
QassJLl^a 
Book J, 



OUT ON 
LONG ISLAND 



ILLUSTRATED 



IT IS A GOODLY SIGHT TO SEE 

WHAT HEAVEN HATH DONE FOR THIS DELICIOUS LAND 

— Byron 



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MDCCCLXXXX ; Issued by the Traffic Department of the 
Long Island Railroad Company ^ — ■ 



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COPYRIGHTED, 1890 
BY THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD CO. 



PRESS OF CHARLES K. ALLEY, NEW YORK. 
3783 




Somewhere in the romances of art there is the story of a famous 
artist who desired to paint the face of the child Christ. He crossed 
the continent and searched through Pialftstfne, peered into the faces 
of the children of Jerusalem, and among the homes of Nazareth. 
But, finding nowhere the ideal of -his dfeams**he^' returned baffled to 
his home and took up again his daily work. And one day, in the 
very street of his own home, he saw the face of his visions, painted 
it upon his canvas, and made his fame immortal. 

For all the years the tired workers and pleasure seekers of New 
York and Brooklyn have been searching the country over for places 
for their summer homes. The White Mountains, the Catskills, the 
Thousand Islands, Saratoga, and Lake George have been thronged 
with tourists from New York, while at their very doors Long Island 
has held in waiting every variety of beauty, scenery of entrancing 
loveliness, air fresh with the salt breezes of the sea and sweetened 
with the balsams of its pines and spruces. The fish have fattened in 
its ponds, and the breakers have thundered on its beaches. 

Great fleets of steamers have carried the lovers of antiquity to 
the old world, that they might see the quaint oddities of its old 
towns, and because the world's vision is always far-sighted and sees 
the distant, while it is blind to the beauty that is near at hand, the 
old doggerel has ever been verified : 

"Madam Dill 

Is very ill, 
And nothing will improve her, 

Until she sees 

The Tuilleries, 
And waddles through the Louvre." 

And yet, Long Island has hills as fair as the Scottish Highlands, 
cliffs that well-nigh rival those of Dover, quaint towns as curious as 
those of Normandy, gable-roofed cottages and windmills as antique 
as those of Holland, while in its summer cities by the sea A^anity 



Fair has as curious masquerades of pleasure seekers as any in the 
old world. 

It is historic ground ; battles have here been fought, and great 
frigates have anchored in its harbors. The Dutch here made early- 
settlements, and left their relics in house and custom. There are 
old records on church registers of the marriages of those who 
crossed in the Mayflower. Almost every town has its romance of 
exile and heroism ; poets who have sung the songs which echoed 
round the world had their cradles and their graves here. The 
shores are rich with the wreckage of the sea, and superstition has its 
tale of wonder in every village. There are towns whose streets are 
quaint with the architecture of the old world, and not a. few natives 
trace back an unbroken descent from the good old days 

" When George the Third was King." 
Long Island is rich in legendary relics of the Indian days. The 




LAUNCHING THE LIFEBOAT. 



ashes of the camp-fires are hardly yet cool, and the wild blood of 
the Indian aboriginees has hardly yet fully mingled with that of the 
"pale face." 

New York has become one of the great cities of the world, 
because it is the gateway of a continent. The sea has dowried it 
with riches. And yet Long Island is its only seaboard. There are 
States not larger than Long Island. One hundred and twenty miles 
in length, from eight to twenty broad ; within this area there is all 
that heart can wish and industry desire. Through the wise enter- 
prise of the Long Island Railroad Company, with its several hundred 
trains a day, this wonderland, so long unknown, is taking its right- 
ful place as one of the fairest portions of the Empire State. Great 
resorts grow populous. The tide of emigration is setting eastward 
from the metropolis, industry is tickling the swift island with the 
plough, and it responds with laughing harvests. Wealth is lining 
the shores with villas, and the great middle classes are finding 
homes in the pleasant island village contiguous to the cities. While 
there has been none of the artificial excitement of " Western 
booms," there has been a phenomenal growth in the towns and 
villages of the island, so that "out on the Island" now is a fa- 
miliar phrase to the dwellers in the great cities of New York and 
Brooklyn. 

Long Island may be conveniently divided into three divisions. 
From the same starting-points in Long Island City and Brooklyn the 
trains leave for the central portion, the south and north shores. 

The central part is a great plain. In places, for miles one 
passes over great prairie-like reaches, dotted with forests of fir and 
pine, with soil clean and easily worked. John Randolph said that 
the soil of Virginia was poor by nature and ruined by cultivation, 
and so to the casual tourist the soil of Long Island seems unfertile ; 
but turn it with the plough, and throw the seed into it, and it 
rewards toil with plenty. It seems as if Nature, knowing how tired 
human brains would get in the great hurryings of the city, had set 
this great central belt midway here between the sea and the Sound, 
as a sanitarium for the healing of sick nerves and spent brains ; for 
here are 

*' The murnauring pines and the hemlocks," 

and in this porous soil there is no feeding-place of malaria, and the 
air, washed clean with the sweet baptisms of the sea, brings invigora- 
tion in every breeze, while there is room enough for the tired 




thousands, who at night would escape the cities' heats, to touch old 
Mother Nature and rise up strong for the new day's work. 

The south side is the sea side of the island ; but as if, in her 
great kindness to this "snug little, tight little island," Nature desired 
to guard it from the raw, untempered sea, she has made a break- 
water between the island and the ocean, and behind this outer ram- 
part she has for sixty miles placed the Great South Bay, which is a 
kind of inner lake, with waters smooth and sunny on summer days, 
but having in it a touch of the old fury of the sea when occasion 
calls. Along the shores of this bay there are inlets, bays, and coves ; 
into it the streams run, and along it there are villages which once 
were filled with those who tilled the land and spread their nets within 
the waters, who made the towns quaint with curious streets and 
lanes, and kept alive the old customs of the good old days. In 
recent years the summer throngs have filled these villages. The 
dog-cart and the tally-ho are seen within the streets ; the old clocks 
and heirlooms have been bought and are now 

" Hung up for ornament ; " 

the village pastures are cut up into villa lots ; great hotels are in the 
places where the fishers dried their nets, and land that was once 
given away by the acre is now sold by the foot. But Nature has 
been very prodigal of her charms here upon this old island. 
The Great South Bay is a splendid institution ; but even 
that would have been overdone if it had bounded the island 
along its entire length. And so, at either end of it the sea 
comes up and has direct dealings with the island, and with- 
out a foot of intervening sand or island it pours the whole 
torrent of three thousand miles of sea upon the beaches. 
And what superb things these beaches are ! As smooth 
i_ as ivory and almost as white. No quicksands here, nor 
treacherous undertow of backward sweeping currents, but 
good, honest, hearty, noisy breakers, pounding on beaches 
hard as adamant ! Nowhere on the Atlantic coast are 
there greater reaches of white sand, and along these mag- 
nificent shores there are great hotels, and small hotels, 
every wonderment of summer merriment and pleasure, bands of 
world-wide fame, a great phantasmagoria, to which half the multi- 
tudes of the great cities go, and to whose dazzling brilliancy of scene 
the tourists of the world come to be amazed. And at the other end 



Nature gives another turn to her kaleidoscope, and here she has 
built behind the beaches high hills of sand, as though she knew that 
the ocean was a treacherous thing, and needed some mighty ram- 
part to keep her back from the great continent. From these one 
looks down and out upon the sea. Had he but vision strong enough 
he could look straight across to the old world without one interven- 
ing thing. The sea is flecked with sails, and tired watchers on the 
deck see these white cliffs as the first token of their voyage's end, 
and on and on these beaches go, eastward and northward, the cliffs 
broken here and there, until at last the end is reached in Montauk 
Point, where the island culminates in a great cliff of grandeur. 

These things are on the seaward side. Backward the cliffs slope 
with gentle declivity into fertile fields. There are winding roads 
leading to pleasant towns, not spoiled by art or fashion, but having 
a simple life and simple ways, taking just pride in the relics of an 
honorable past, not anxious for rapid growth, but having the old- 
time virtues of hospitality and friendliness. 

The north side of the island faces Long Island Sound. It is a 
noted place, and not even the far-famed St. George's Channel is 
such a waterway as this. The traffic of New England and not a 
little of the ocean commerce passes here ; for many years the Sound 
steamers, at early morn and eve, have passed up and down with their 
stately beauty. There have been many tragedies on this water- 
course, and it is famous not only for its exceeding beauty, but for 
the memorable events that have happened here. Long Island along 
the north shore is bold and precipitous. The Sound makes many 
indentations of deep bays or harbors, and on either side of this the 
land is high and wooded with the finest growth of timber. There 
are villages and farms, pleasant villas and homes embowered with 
trees, winding roads skirting the bays with little vessels in the 
harbors and along the shore, shipyards where once great ships were 
built. The grandeur here is not of the sea, as it is upon the island's 
other side, but it is of mingled land and water. Beyond, northward, 
are the shores of Connecticut, just far enough away to have the 
misty glamour which Nature loves, with her artless coquetry, to 
spread before her face. There is the glimmer of city spires, the 
white gleam of town and village, the upward rising land, which 
stands like lesser mountains against the sky. And near at hand are 
the blue waters of the Sound, not always smooth, but having way- 
ward moods of passion when the storm is on. For the lover of 



beauty the north side is rich. There is grandeur in these high 
ramparts of land which separate the harbors. The shores are 
irregular, iron-bound with rock and boulder, on which the sea weeds 
have hung their draperies, while there are pleasant surprises of 
woodland nooks, winding paths and roads, with fertile farms such as 
one sees on New England hills, with soil as warm and rich as 
Nature ever made. There are staid and prosperous towns here, 
having all the comforts that years of prosperous industry and 
enterprise can bring. The invasion of the city is already felt. At 
morning and night the depots are surrounded with the carriages of 
those who go daily to the city to their business, and year by year 
the summer homes increase, the tide of travel swells, as the incom- 
parable beauties and delights of the island are discovered. At the 
farther end of the island Shelter Island stands to 

"Sentinel enchanted land." 

Beyond is still another island, and both of these have their own le- 
gends and traditions. There is no need that citizens of New York 
and Brooklyn should live within crowded tenements, or waste half 
their living on expensive rents, when for a small sum a home can be 
bought or built in some one of the many towns of Long Island. 
Summer boarding places can be found within easy distance of the 
cities at moderate cost, and men can go to and fro at small expense 
of time and money. 

The Woodruff parlor coaches are attached to all the principal 
trains of the Long Island Railroad. They are handsomely ap- 
pointed, and offer the traveler every convenience and comfort. 
The island from one end to the other is well supplied with the daily 
newspapers and periodicals by the Long Island News Company. 
New York morning papers are delivered at early hours every day 
and are sold on all the trains. During the season special Sunday 
trains are run to insure early distribution of newspapers. 

Long Island offers every variety of scenery, an unrivaled climate 
and easy accessibility to the great cities. The time is not far distant 
when the entire island will be a suburban New York and Brooklyn, 
and if one is missed from his accustomed place in the great city the 
answer to the question, "Where is he? " will bring the response, 

"Out on Long Island." 



NEAR-BY SEASIDE RESORTS. 

For years after the New Jersej' ocean resorts were in the full 
tide of prosperity the broad, inviting beaches of Southern Long 
Island were unpopulated, and, with few exceptions, almost unvisited. 
But in the seventies it dawned on the minds of certain capitalists that 
right here, within a half-hour's ride of New York, was a series of 
the finest beaches in America — yes, in the world — and they resolved 
to develop them into watering-places, with what result of success 
the world knows. It spoils a day to go to Long Branch and home 
again, but the tired man of business can run down to Manhattan 
Beach with his family in thirty minutes, after office hours, take 
a bath in the surf, get an excellent dinner, listen to the music 
and see the fireworks, and be home and in bed an hour earlier than 
he would be if he spent the evening at the theatre. Coney Island is 
the most cosmopolitan of places. There is a sliding social scale 
extending from the West End to the elegant and exclusive Oriental 
Hotel at the East End with its adjacent miles of protected beach. 
Nowhere in America is there so famous a seaside resort as Man- 
hattan Beach. It is the metropolis among summer cities of the 
country as New York is among the commercial cities. It is no 
unusual sight on a pleasant summer's day to witness over 100,000 
people at this magnificent resort, and yet so large are the two hotels 
and so extensive the grounds about them that every one can have 
full measure of the enjoyment which he seeks. The Manhattan and 
Oriental are two of the largest and best hotels on Long Island, the 
former accommodating five hundred people and the latter seven 
hundred. These houses are equipped with every modern improve- 
ment, and the grounds they stand in are beautified with lawns and 
gardens. The cuisine is excellent, and both variety and abundance 
are assured. A broad promenade extends before them, furnished 
with seats that young people like to occupy when the moon rises, 
and it often takes a surprisingly long time for the moon to come up. 
The ride from the city is in itself a pleasant thing on a warm day, 
the temperature seeming to fall as the open cars — you can ride in 
the parlor cars if you prefer — speed over the green fields and 
through the cool and rustling forests. Arrived at Manhattan, many 
pleasures offer, chief among which is the bathing. The whole coast 
of Long Island is washed by a branch of the Gulf Stream, so the 
water has never the icy chill that shrivels the person who takes his 







mm 
mm 

■ V ^^ 



sea baths north of Cape Cod. There is a good surf, too ; not so 
heavy as to make an undertow, or to render it unsafe for ladies and 
children, but a good, bracing roll to the water that puts every one in 
a glow. Bathers at Manhattan have the advantage of a detached 
structure that screens them from promiscuous observation. The 
dresses and towels are absolutely clean, a matter of no small account, 
and valuables may be safely entrusted to the care of the clerks. 
Excellent music is to be heard at the spacious music pavilion, which 
is splendidly arranged with reference to acoustic properties, and 
Gilmore's famous band is frequently supplemented during the 
season by choral societies and distinguished soloists, and on Sundays 
clergymen of celebrity conduct divine worship. The amphitheatre 
is one of the best-constructed in the world, finely decorated within 
and without. As for Gilmore, everybody knows him. He is to the 
brass band what Theodore Thomas is to the orchestra, and the rich 
tone and grand sonority of his music have never been equaled by 
any other band in the country. From the time of his connection 
with the great jubilees in Boston, Mr. Gilmore has been the best- 
known musician in America, and his name has never been associated 
with a failure. So great an attraction are his concerts that thou- 
sands of people visit Manhattan Beach during the summer just to 
hear the music. Fire dramas, under supervision of Pain of London, 
are enacted on nearly every summer night in the great inclosure east 
of the hotel, hundreds of people assisting in the performance, boats 
navigating the lake between stage and audience, the show concluding 
with a dazzling exhibition of pyrotechnic devices. 

Back of Manhattan Beach is the narrow Sheepshead Bay, thus 
named because of the fish known as sheepshead that abound there. 
It is a rendezvous for yachtsmen, and now that the cottagers who 
dwell on its shores have solved the drainage problem and have 
begun to beautify their streets and holdings, the village of Sheeps- 
head Bay has sprung into prominence. The local population is 
greatly increased through the hot season by a summer colony of 
city folks, and on racing days thousands visit the Coney Island 
Jockey Club track, which is one of the amplest and best managed in 
the country. 

Rockaway, the name of a long, sandy peninsula, is a corruption 
of Rekanawohaha, "Our Place of Laughing Waters." It was, a 
generation ago, a place of local celebrity, and was largely visited by 
city excursionists. Rockaway is still very popular. Clubs have 



located there, pleasant cottages have been put up, and the hotels 
have been improved. Near the centre of the beach, among the 
dunes, stood the big hotel, the largest in the world, and a veritable 
elephant on the hands of its builders. It was never used, the open- 
ing having been legally prevented, and its doors being for years 
tied with legal red tape. During the present season the hotel will 
be removed and the land laid out in villa plots, which will make it 
one of the most notable places on the island. The bathing is fine 
and back of the peninsula there is still water for swimmers and 
oarsmen who do not feel equal to buffeting with big waves. Music 
museums, merry-go-rounds and refreshments entertain the crowds. 

Following the Cedarhurst line along the Rockaway coast is 
Ocean Park, the site of a camp of the Rockaway Indians, and more 
recently a part of the estate known as Plum Place. Indian and 
revolutionary relics have been found there in abundance. The 
ground is high and dry, and commands beautiful sea-views that are 
enhanced by the foreground vistas of foliage, the main avenue, of 
double width and nearly a mile long, being lined with trees. 
Ocean Park is laid out in building lots, and the cottages thus far 
erected bespeak for it a select society. 

Nameoke (the corruption of a word meaning " To the Water's 
Edge") joins Rockaway village on the southwest, and is a charm- 
ing spot. 

Arverne-by-the-Sea is a new resort, cool, healthful, and fronting 
directly on the ocean. A considerable "boom" has been projected 
in its favor by real-estate dealers and others, and perhaps no 
suburban resort has a more hopeful future before it. It stands on 
the Rockaway peninsula, which is five miles or more in length, and 
varies in width from one-eighth to one-half of a mile. A fine large 
hotel, with room for four hundred guests, handsomely built and 
surrounded with a twenty-foot piazza, forms the nucleus of this 
village, and over fifty cottages have recently been built along the 
broad and regularly planned avenues that lead to the hotel and to 
the ocean. Of the one hundred and twenty-six rooms in the hotel 
there is not one that does not command a view over the sea. 
Cedars have been planted in large numbers beside these avenues, 
and are a novelty in shade trees, though common enough as 
hedges in New England. Their dark foliage, the odor of their 
leaves, and the fact that they will root firmly in sandy soil and 
withstand the stoutest gales, make them particularly desirable for 



13 



seaside planting. Arverne is prettily named, and is going to live 
up to its name, which it might not do if some soulless land-grabber 
had dubbed it Jonesville or Thomsonborough to commemorate his 
ownership. It stands close beside the ocean, and has been likened 
to Cape May and Pataloa, for the water rolls in with a good swing, 
and the beach has so gradual a slope that the bather may choose his 
own depth. Bath-houses have been built at the end of each of the 
ocean avenues for the sole use of the cottagers and their friends, 
but arrangements are likewise ample for the guests of the hotel ; 
and, en passant, it should be remarked that this hostelry offers every 
comfort that the traveler might reasonably expect. 

More exclusive, and perhaps better known by reason of its 
priority of settlement, is Wave Crest, standing on a green-topped 
bluff, which resists the encroachments of the sea that have worked 
such frequent changes in the form and dimensions of the sandy 
islands elsewhere. It commands a fine view because of this ele- 
vation, and likewise serves as a landmark to passing vessels. The 
site is historic, and was claimed at an early date by one of the fre- 
quent Smith family, of Hempstead, as the spot for his acres and 




villa. In 1880 a number of gentlemen bought a square mile or so 
of this property, laid it out as a park, inclosed it, stationed lodge- 
keepers at ' e gates, and have since built one hundred cottages, 
many of which are occupied through the year. As at Tuxedo, 
Short Hills, and other parked villages, the society is exclusive. No 
lot is less than a quarter of an acre in extent, and the surface is 

14 



diversified with lawns, groves, serpentine paths, and winding shell- 
roads. All the houses are new, and one of them stands upon the 
site of the old Boscobel House, so named in honor of Charles II. 
The drainage is perfect, as the buildings stand at a level of thirty 
feet above high-tide mark, and the general health of the community 
is, therefore, excellent. Still-water bathing is had at the foot Of the 
bluff, but a ferry-boat transports all who desire it across the strip of 
bay, here a quarter of a mile wide, that lies inside the Rockaway 
Key, and there surf enough can be had to satisfy the strongest or 
the most exacting. 

Before Long Branch could claim any social consequence, Far 
Rockaway was the most famous watering-place in this country, 
Newport alone excepted. The Marine Hotel that stood there forty 
years ago was a great hotel for its time, and its register bore the 
names of presidents, governors, mayors, authors, soldiers, and so 
on, down to common little European princes, who were not above 
eating clams and struggling with other articles of the traditional 
diet of the Long Islander. With the burning of this hotel, Far 
Rockaway lapsed into a state of innocuous desuetude, and slept a 
Rip Van Winkle sleep, forgotten by its neighbors ; but with the 
development of watering-places around it, a spark of enthusiasm 
woke this little village, too, and it is taking on new importance as a 
resort, and increasing as a place of permanent homes. It is but 
thirty-five minutes from Hunter's Point, and although the sea winds 
are strong in cold weather, and the ocean storms are magnificent to 
witness, the temperature is not only cooler than that of the cities in 
summer, but the thermometer never falls quite so low in winter as it 
does in the interior. For this fact the Gulf Stream is responsible. 
Far Rockaway Bay extends before the village, offering safe water 
for bathers and boaters ; even children may be trusted to row a* but 
this inlet, and just across the sands that senara^e it from tl' t sea 
roars and seethes the ocean. The sheltered '"'k)f Jamai i Bay 

are less than half a mile distant on the west. .Ill kinds hotels 
and restaurants are found there, and for the benefit c the local 
populace there are shops, markets, schools, churches, telegraph 
offices, telephones, and a court-house. The site is on ground of 
moderate elevation, supporting a natural growth of «;:!■' it-scented 
bay and larger bushes and trees. Cottages are multiplymg rapidly, 
and the value of real estate is rising. 

Between Wave Crest and Westville, showing a front of clean 

15 



cottages on Jamaica Bay, is Bayswater, a paradise for fishermen. 
Ten years ago there were three houses there, now there are over a 
hundred. Indian traditions are associated with this place, and not 
long ago nine skeletons were unearthed, all with marks of toma- 
hawks on their skulls. These bones seemed to be of a race of 
giants, for the smallest of the skeletons, that of a woman, was 
seven feet two inches in height. Boating is safe in this land-locked 
water, and one can hardly imagine a more delightful row or sail 
than this offers on a moonlight night, when the low shores twinkle 
with lamps, and the small islands seem almost to hang in air, so 
perfectly are sky, moon and stars mirrored in the still water. 







LAWRENCE. 



1 6 



Lawrence, a mile back from Far Rockaway, is a handsome 
village with telegraphic and telephonic touch with the city, boating, 
bathing, fishing and sleeping — the latter an item worth considering 
by the fagged and brain-sick business man ; for cool, pure air, the 
lull of a distant surf and the plash of wind through the cedars will 
do a deal toward the cure of insomnia. Most of the Lawrentians 
own elegant houses and live in them through the year. They are 
wealthy, well-bred and well-situated ; therefore they should be 
happy. The village is one great garden, blazing with flowers and 
ornamental shrubbery, while broad avenues lead to Ocean Point, 
Isle of Wight, Westville and Far Rockaway. With its advantages 
and its society, Lawrence may justly claim to be one of the most 
stylish resorts on Long Island. Few places of its size contain so 
many costly residences. 

At Cedarhurst, between Lawrence and Woodsburgh, the country 
is undulating and fertile, and, although the name hints at cedars 
only, there is abundance of oak, maple, willow, acacia and pine. 
The sea views and bay views are fine, and are enhanced by the 
rustic beauty of the foreground. An equable climate and plenty 
of ozone are likewise assured to its residents, and sixty handsome 
villas attest the appreciation with which certain influential families 
regard this delightful place, many of the villas being occupied the 
year through. The headquarters of the Rockaway Hunt Club is 
an imposing clubhouse in Queen Anne style, and it contains every- 
thing needed by the members from a kitchen to a postoffice. There 
are polo grounds, tennis courts, gymnasium, hunting-stables, game 
and fish preserves and kennels. The "meets" of the hunters are 
picturesque affairs, and bring out large numbers of people. 

Returning from Lawrence to the main line of the railroad, 
Hewletts, Woodsburgh and Ocean Point are rapidly traversed, and 
the tourist has glimpses of quiet streets, country shops, modest 
little churches and cozy cottages. Woodsburgh is so named from 
the late Samuel Wood, of Brooklyn, a rich and philanthropic gentle- 
man who aimed to establish there a town that should excel Garden 
City in size and beauty ; but the estates are in litigation, and when, 
years hence, the courts render their decisions and perfect titles to 
land may be secured, this town will rank among the most desirable 
places of residence on Southern Long Island. Boulevard Avenue 
is one hundred feet wide and lined v/ith shade trees all the way to 
the shore. 

17 



The last of these near-by seaside resorts is Long Beach, a 
narrow island seven miles long, that guards Hempstead Bay, with 
its grassy islands, from the direct assaults of the sea. It is twenty- 
four miles from New York, and "one of the brightest in the string 
of ocean pearls" that adorn the Long Island coast. The beach 
has a barely perceptible slope, and is so hard and smooth that 
driving, horseback exercise and walking are attended with no 
fatigue, while the sea that tumbles on the shore in magnificent 
breakers is as clear and bright as crystal. Long Beach is popular 
with the better class of people, and even on days when there is 
a crowd from town there is no noise or roughness. The big hotel, 
in Queen Anne style, is one of the best-built and best-kept of the 
many hostelries between Brooklyn and Montauk, and among its 
guests are and have been statesmen, men of the professions and 
notables of all kinds from different parts of the country. It is nine 
hundred feet long by one hundred and fifty wide, its verandas are 
broad enough to dance upon, the conveniences and comforts are 
such as are found in the best city hotels. Heating, ventilation and 
lighting have been scientifically adjusted. Through the season an 
orchestra furnishes music. A number of pretty and roomy cottages 
are for rent there to those who prefer a degree of privacy that the 
hotel cannot insure, or who have large families. They can dine at 
the hotel or they may keep house, as suits their convenience and 
pleasure. The Marine Railway runs to the east end of the island, 
where, on breezy Point Lookout that is thrust into the blue 
Atlantic, there is another hotel and group of cottages. Many of 
the cottagers own their yachts, and the season there is enlivened 
with sailing, fishing, bathing, games and dances. 



i8 



THE SOUTH SHORE. 



The south side of Long Island is the seaward side. The great 
South Bay, and at either end of that the great Atlantic, have made 
it attractive to tourists. Its facilities for boating and fishing have 
no doubt added much to its charms. The Montauk division of the 
Long Island Railroad skirts the shore, and in most cases passes 
through or near the business centres of the towns, giving such 
excellent railroad accommodations that for fifty miles at least the 
island is a veritable suburb of the metropolis. At Valley Stream the 
railroad branches to Rockaway, and at Pearsalls to Long Beach, and 
then, without divergences, continues for one hundred miles to Sag 
Harbor, the terminus. To stop and particularize about every place 
along this delightful route is unnecessary, and would only weary the 
reader. Naturally many of the south side villages are much alike in 
general characteristics. All are noted for healthfulness, a feature 
already dwelt upon. All have access to the water. And as to the 
attractiveness of each, such as the location of streets, the architecture 
of the houses, and the nearness to the depots, etc., these are matters 
which appeal with varying force to different individuals. For a 
distance of some twenty miles, from Valley Stream to Amityville 
and beyond, the geographical features are similar, and all the 
villages in that section are especially 
favored by being within easy reach 
of the cities. It is true that the 
ocean waves do not roll in upon the 
mainland, nor is there broad sweep of 
bay, but there is compensation in the 
hundred inlets and coves and numer- 
ous islands, making not only a paradise 
for the amateur sportsman, but an El 
Dorado for the honest fisher- 



men of the towns who derive 
their sustenance from these 
productive waters. From 
Freeport come the luscious 
Rockaway oysters, and in 
these waters are caught the finest blue-fish 
that are sent to market, while all the re- 
gion is dotted with ponds and trout-streams 




famous for what they offer. In July the summer flight of bay 
birds commences, and then the gunners come in for their share 
of the sport, and as the fall approaches the ducks and geese ap- 
pear. It is indeed a charming country. The farmers thereabouts 
are a well-to-do class, the villages are wide awake and are grow- 
mg with a rapidity that is simply marvelous. At Freeport a tract 
of land of thirty acres, north of the railroad, called Randall Park, 
has been handsomely laid out, and already thirty modern cot- 
tages have been erected, while at Rockville centre extensive real 
estate transfers have been made this year which promise large 
results in the way of local irnprovements. Many attractive cottages 
have already been erected and several good boarding-houses. 
Oceanville, a contiguous settlement, contains a cluster of houses, 
over twenty of which are occupied by retired " Down-East " ship- 
masters. The Brooklyn Water Works have a large pumping station 
in the vicinity. Pearsalls, Baldwins, Bellmore, Ridgewood, Merrick, 
are all desirable summer villages with many attractive features. At 
Merrick are the famous camp-meeting grounds. 

On Long Island, with its superior Indian nomenclature, there is 
no excuse for giving "North" and "South" prefixes and the com- 
monplace names of individuals. " Massapequa " is the pleasant- 
sounding name which has replaced " South Oyster Bay," and the 
place is not less delightful than its attractive name. That portion 
of the village which is about the station is not imposing, but a few 
minutes' walk will take one to the great South Side highway, along 
which on either side are stately summer residences, many of them 
owned by New York millionaires and families whose names are 
historic in the annals of the State. Here is Massapequa Lake, 
and to the south of it the new Massapequa Hotel, a recent ap- 
plicant for public favor, and one of the most commodious and 
best-arranged hotels on the island. It overlooks the Great South 
Bay, which is reached by a natural canal within a stone's throw 
of the hotel. On the spacious grounds fronting the hotel hand- 
some villas will be erected. The drives in the vicinity are su- 
perb, and near by are several large trout-ponds. Three miles to 
the east is Amityville, a thriving town, which has come to the 
front within a year past as a very popular resort, and already the 
Amityville Land Improvement Company, composed of local capi- 
talists, have purchased 165 acres of land lying on the east side 
of Amityville Creek and have divided it into building plots with 



broad avenues extending to the bay. Just west of the village over 
150 acres have been purchased, which will be developed in a similar 
manner. On the bay front has been built a large pavilion with 
ample docks and bathing-houses. Amityville does not cater to the 
wealthy and exclusive class, her citizens preferring to give greeting 
to people of moderate circumstances, who demand comfort rather 
than style, and who enjoy summer life there because they are free to 
seek pleasure without bowing to the mandates of fashion. The 
Dominican Convent is located there, also the Brunswick Home for 
nervous invalids. The Long Island Railroad Company, appreciating 
the importance of the place, has erected a handsome depot modeled 
after the new station at Patchogue. The new steamer Massapequa 
will make daily excursions to prominent points on the Great South 
Bay. 

THE. GREAT SOUTH BAY RESORTS. 

Following the highway which leads to Sag Harbor, and over 
which the stages ran before the railroad, we pass Breslau, a thrifty 
German village, and come to Babylon, and thence on for another 
twenty miles through probably the wealthiest and most aristocratic, 
and to many the most attractive, section on all Long Island. Nature 
did much for this region, but man, with large prodigality, has worked 
wonderful transformation scenes. These wide-awake modern vil- 
lages hug close the shores of the Great South Bay, a body of water 
which for sailing and fishing cannot be surpassed in all this country. 
Gaze upon it any summer's day and a hundred cat-boats meet the 
eye. They are the safest and fastest boats made, and the most 
useful too, for when not in commission to pleasure-seekers they 
are decked in fisherman's garb and go into actual service, with no 
international fishery question to interfere. In the season, the Great 
South Bay abounds in geese, brant, canvas-back, broad-bills, red- 
heads, black-heads, and mallards. In June the bluefish, the gamest 
of our salt-water fish, come into the bay and remain all summer, 
and in the fall and winter the oyster beds yield large harvests. But 
why dwell upon the attractions of the Great South Bay which are 
known to people the world over ? But where could there be a more 
desirable shore upon which to spend a vacation or to make a perma- 
nent residence ? 'Tis not alone the bay that makes attractive these 
island villages. This part of the island is rich with trees and 



foliage. Poplars, oaks, pines and breezy maples, with now and then 
a sad-hued cedar in their midst, abound. Trees line the drives and 
lanes and make them beautiful, and wealthy land-owners have 
macadamized the main thoroughfares, so that no city park offers 
such superb driveways as along this twenty-mile stretch through 
a summer city of cottages in a never-ending, picturesque chain. 
Babylon is forty miles from New York. It is aristocratic in out- 
ward appearance, and has been compared to Newport and other 
fashionable seaside resorts, but no comparisons can do it justice. 
It is a Long Island town which gives generous hospitality to all 
who come within its limits. It is fashionable, but not exclusive. 
There is gayety, healthy recreation, and pleasures of every kind. 
Its location for summer enjoyment is perfect ; for, under all cir- 
cumstances, there are cool breezes from the bay and ocean, and yet 
it is far enough back from the Atlantic to escape the sea mists. In- 
the village proper, which numbers nearly three thousand inhabitants, 
are large stores and numerous cottages, handsome, but unpreten- 
tious, while near by are palatial homes, amid extensive parks, 
owned by wealthy New Yorkers. North of the depot a half hour's 
ride is the Westminster Kennel Club Preserve, where are to be 
found some of the best pointers and retrievers in the country, and 
further on are the princely mansions of August Belmont, Austin 
Corbin, and many other gentlemen prominent in financial circles. 
Trout-ponds are to be found on many of the estates. Much can be 
said of the superior hotel accommodations at Babylon. The 
Argyle is one of the most unique and picturesque hotels in the 
country. It will accommodate two hundred and fifty guests. 
Thirteen elegant cottages are in the Argyle Park. This park con- 
sists of seventy acres of land. It is intersected with winding paths 
and drives, shaded with numerous trees, having in its midst a beau- 
tiful lake of twenty-five acres. A large Casino, containing a bil- 
liard-hall, gymnasium, and reading-room was built last year for the 
exclusive use of the guests. The hotel is run in first-class style, 
and is always well patronized. 

Babylon is the harbor for embarkation to one of the most unique 
summer resorts on the Atlantic coast — Fire Island. One of the 
first writers to bring this place into prominence was James Gordon 
Bennett. He was enthusiastic over his visit, and the verdict which 
he pronounced through the columns of his paper has been accepted 
by thousands of delighted tourists. Way back in 1855, David 

24 



Sturgiss Sprague Samniis opened a chowder-house near the light- 
house, on the strip of sand which makes the ocean border of the 
Great South Bay, and from that day to this the genial boniface has 
kept open house in summer. From the small chowder-house has 
been evolved by gradual development the present commodious 
Surf Hotel. The processes of annually adding to the house were 
not calculated to give beauty or architectural display, but it did 
give abundance of room and all the conveniences found in the more 
pretentious hotels. Broad covered walks connect the hotel on one 
side with the bay, and on the other with the ocean. There are 
miles of these shady walks, some of them leading to the cottages 
which are in close proximity to the hotel, and as the soil is sandy 
and unattractive, there is no desire to leave Mr. Sammis's plank- 
walks, except at the beach, where the well-fed boarder spends most 
of his time when not sailing and fishing on the bay. There is a 
fine surf, and the 
bathing cannot 
be excelled. One 
of the points of 
interest on this 
weather - beaten 
coast is the Fire 
Island Signal 
Station, from 
which ocean 
steamers are 
sighted and the 
announcement 
made in New 
York four hours 
before the ves- 
sel reaches her 
dock. Mr. Pat- 
rick Keegan is 
the operator in 
charge. He has 
never been on 
board one of the 
large steamers, 
and says if he 




25 



should see one passing through the " Narrows" he could not identify 
it, so accustomed has he become to distinguishing ocean steamers at 
long distances. The tracks of the ocean-flyers on an average are 
thirteen miles from the observatory, and Mr. Keegan can only iden- 
tify a vessel by a most careful observation of minute details, such as 
the position of the smoke-stack, the rigging, manner of carrying 
sails, and general outline of the steamer. From one port-hole in the 
lookout-room at a certain angle he watches for a steamer of the 
Cunard Line, and from another the Inman, and so on. The place 
is well worth a visit. A staunch boat makes regular trips from Mr. 
Sammis's dock to Babylon, connecting with trains east and west. 
A few miles to the west of Fire Island is Jesse Smith's famous 
chowder-house, the "Armory," on Oak Island Beach, and near by 
are the headquarters of the Wawayanda and Short Beach Clubs, and 
on Oak Island proper is a settlement of cottagers. 

Returning to the main land and continuing the journey east- 
ward, it is easy to see that Bay Shore and Islip are conspicuously 
attractive villages, practically joining each other, and within only a 
few miles of Babylon. If anything, the scenery round about is 
more entrancing than at Babylon. The villages have many ponds, 
while running brooks and long inlets cut their way through the 
green marshes up to the higher lands. Pretty villas and pretentious 
summer homes dot the landscape, agreeably distant from each other, 
and many of them amid forest trees. There, also, wealth has been 
lavish in beautifying houses and lawns, so that even the villagers 
have built their stores with an eye to the aesthetic. There are three 
hotels at Bay Shore, the largest being the Prospect House, located 
near the water, with cottages and a billiard-hall. The Olympic Club 
House, one of the finest establishments of the kind on the island, 
is located at Bay Shore. At Islip, the Pavilion and the Lake House 
are the principal hotels. Islip is an old town, and the Long Island 
map has borne its name for more than two hundred years, or ever 
since Richard Nicolls came from England to drive out old Peter 
Stuyvesant and take by force the rule of New Amsterdam from the 
sturdy Dutchman. The South Side Sportsman's Club has com- 
modious quarters and extensive preserves at Islip. Babylon, Bay 
Shore, and Islip are supplied with gas, electric lights, telephones, 
and all the appliances of modern life. 

Oakdale, a charming woodland place, containing the palatial 
home of W. K. Vanderbilt, is just beyond Islip. A tract of four 

26 



hundred acres of land, the title of which is one of the oldest on 
Long Island, having come directly from the Indians, and confirmed 
by a patent from the Duke of York in 1664, has recently been 
transferred for the first tmie, and will be improved and beautified. 







PATCHOGUE STATION. 



Opposite this property is St. John's Church, which was built ten 
years before the Revolutionary War. Sayville, a thriving town next 
in order, emerges from the forest, and permits free sweep to the 
ocean breezes. It, too, contains many handsome homes, and several 
fine hotels and numerous boarding-houses. It has been very popu- 
lar in recent years and gives record of large growth. The village 
is joined by Bayport, and then comes Patchogue, one of the largest 
villages on Long Island. It is a wide-awake town, summer or win- 
ter. In the former season it swarms with young, rollicking, and 
fun- making city folks. Patchogue is less expensive and more dem- 
ocratic than some of its neighbors, and for many years has been one 
of the most popular places on the coast. It has two beautiful lakes, 
one at each end of the village, and superb dock facilities at the bay. 
It is the chief harbor for the South Bay boats. There are several 
excellent hotels in the place, and numerous boarding-houses, and 
summer guests are always well provided for. Just beyond Pat- 
chogue is Bellport, another place that has been inviting attention in 
recent years. For beauty of situation and water facilities few towns 
on the island can excel it. A portion of the village occupies a high 
bluff overlooking the bay, which at this point is three miles wide. 
The Bellport hotels and boarding-houses have the reputation of 
taking excellent care of their visitors. Many costly mansions have 

27 



been erected. To the east of Bellport the shore stretches south- 
ward into a long promontory, called Smith's Point, which is one of 
the most interesting spots on the island. You can trace here the 
breastworks of Fort George, one of the strongholds of the British, 
which was captured by Colonel Tallmadge, and was one of the 
turning-points in the Revolutionary War. The land was patented 
to Colonel William Smith by William and Mary in 1692, and has 
been held in the family ever since. The present occupant, Mr. Eg- 
bert T. Smith, still retains the original patent. In a cemetery near 
the old fort are buried many of Mr. Smith's ancestors, and near by 
is seen the house where William Floyd, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, lived. Brookhaven and Forge are 
quiet places, with many comfortable farm-houses, where the summer 
visitors will find good homes. A few miles to the north is the trout 
preserve of the famous Suffolk County Club. 



FROM MORICHES TO SAG HARBOR. 

At Smith's Point a narrow channel divides the mainland from 
the Great South Beach and connects the Great South Bay with East 
Bay. Upon this latter body of water, close to the water's edge, 
numerous hotels and cottages are superbly located. The bay is 
well sheltered, and boating is safe even for the ladies, while upon 
the banks of the many inlets which push their way into the shore 
children can play in perfect safety. These villages are almost 
too far away for business men going to the city daily, but this dis- 
advantage — if it be a disadvantage — is more than made up by the 
superior attractions offered at this end of the island. The roaring 
of the ocean waves can be heard, and a short ride in sail or row 
boat takes one to the ocean beach. The atmosphere is cool and 
bracing, and there are no marshes or lowlands to breed malaria, 
while from the pines and spruces come aromas laden with health- 
giving properties. Several eminent physicians have given this 
region the best possible recommendation by living there themselves. 
From the railroad little idea of the country is obtained. The 
depots are surrounded by dense woods, and the stranger is apt to 
step from the car with much hesitation, so uninviting is the wilder- 
ness about him. But his fears are soon dispelled when, after a 
short ride through romantic woodland roads, he comes to the hotel 

28 



or boarding-house on the plateau overlooking the ocean and sur- 
rounded by rich fields and beautiful lawns. Here are the Moriches 
places which bring pleasant memories to thousands of Long Island 
tourists— Speonk, Eastport (where the Oxford Rod and Gun Club 
is located), and Westhampton, the first place east of Rockaway 
where one can drive to the ocean. Hundreds of handsome cottages 
are located there, many of them occupied by men of national re- 
pute. Clergymen, physicians, and scholars find congenial compan- 
ionship here in the summer. Near the beach is the old Dix farm, 
owned and occupied for many years by the late ex-Governor John 
A. Dix, and now the summer home of his son, the Rev. Morgan Dix, 
D.D. Not a few of the visitors come from New Jersey. Quogue, 
which joins West Hampton, not only has a quaint name, but is a 
quaint place, and is as popular to-day as it was in years gone by 
when DeWitt Clinton, Daniel Webster, and other distinguished 
statesmen were wont to visit it, fishing in the neighboring streams 
and bathing in its magnificent surf. The bathing facilities at 
Quogue are exceptionally fine. Temporary arbors are put up every 
year, under which one may recline by the hour, reading, sleeping. 




/^/t/f(//V ^-'^/;,^^'«v^ 



or watching the merry gambols of the children. A bulletin board 
announces the temperature of the water, the condition of the tide, 
with a notice stating the safest place to bathe. There are nearly 
three hundred bath-houses on the beach. Quogue has several ele- 
gant private residences and numerous first-class hotels and board- 
ing-houses. 

Beyond Quogue is Good Ground, a charming place, where are 
to be found handsome residences, good boarding-houses, excellent 
drives, and all the pleasures of fishing, sailing, and bathing. Many 
of the summer villas are located on the shores of Shinnecock Bay. 
At Ponquogue, near by, is the famous light-house of that name. 

A portion of the island not generally known until within a year 
or more past is Canoe Place, reached from the station at Good 
Ground. It is a narrow strip of land a quarter of a mile wide, con- 
necting Peconic and Shinnecock Bays, through which a canal has 
been dug by the State that the waters of the bays may mingle and 
thus improve the fishing ground and feed the clam and oyster beds. 
Near this point is Canoe Place Inn, a hospitable tavern, reminding 
one much of the quaint old English inns. It has been the stop- 
ping-place for sportsmen for over a hundred years, and its genial 
landlord, Charles Conkling, insists that it is the oldest tavern in 
the State. In 1735, Jeremiah Culver was granted a tract of land 
here on condition that he "forthwith set up a tavern and place 
of rest for travellers on ye King's highway." The tavern was set 
up and has been run ever since. It was a favorite stopping-place 
for the British officers during the Revolutionary War. In front of 
the hotel are two immense willow trees, which are said to have 
grown from sprouts brought from the Island of St. Helena. A tall 
flag-pole stands by the roadside, and at its base is a huge wooden 
figure-head of Hercules, taken from the United States war-ship 
Ohio. It weighs over a ton, and is an excellent specimen of that 
kind of work. On the road leading from the depot to the hotel, in 
a clump of trees near the wayside, is an old gravestone, erected 
early in the present century by the New York Missionary Society to 
the memory of the Rev. Paul Cuffee, the last of the Indian preach- 
ers, and near by stands the little church where Cuffee used to 
preach. Just behind the inn, on the hill, are plainly to be seen the 
remains of an old fort, where three companies of British soldiers 
were stationed in 1776. 

Across the canal, at Canoe Place, is the region of the Shinnecock 

30 



Hills, extending for a distance of four miles to Southampton vil- 
lage, and from the summit of which can be seen on one side the 
ocean and Shinnecock Bay, and on the other the beautiful Peconic 
Bay, and beyond. Long Island Sound. It is hardly possible to 
imagine a more desirable location for a summer residence. The 
land is high, and from this rounded plateau one looks down upon 
one of the finest marine views on the Atlantic coast. The ocean, 
flecked with sails, is before, while behind, the winding waters of 
Peconic Bay, with the intermingling shores, give infinite varietv of 
scene. Art has added to Nature's charms in the cottages that have 
been erected, representing the quaint English architecture of the 
period of Queen Anne. These " Hills " were purchased by the 
Long Island Improvement Company, ^ ---.^,^^ 

and the finest portion has been 
transferred to the Shinne- 
cock Inn and Cottage 
Company, representing 

prominent New York gen- / llfllltHHI^NBNn^H^. \ 

tlemen, who have erected 
a hotel in exact repro- 
duction of an old English 
inn, and they and other 
parties have built cottages 




SHINNECOCK HILLS. 



31 



and made green lawns and gardens where before were sand-heaps 
and low underbrush. The hill called '' Sugar Loaf " is one hun- 
dred and forty feet high, and is the highest point of land on 
the south shore of the island. The depot of the Long Island 
Railroad is in keeping with the style of architecture of the hotels 
and cottages. All this land was at one time owned by the Shin- 
necock Indians. The remnant of this once famous tribe live 
on a reservation on Shinnecock Neck, about two miles from South- 
ampton village. Each Indian has a small wooden house, and with 
it an allotment of land, which he tills. A few years ago, thirteen 
of the best men were lost in the Circassian, a vessel that was 
wrecked off this coast. A melancholy interest attaches to this 
tribe, as it is the last remnant of the warlike tribes which once held 
undisputed sway over this region. They number about one hun- 
dred souls, are fairly intelligent and industrious, and are holding 
their own as regards numbers. Their government has some traces 
of the old tribal regime, though the executive management is 
in the hands of trustees rather than chiefs. They have largely 
intermarried with negroes. Their children are quick and intelligent, 
and their schools and churches are liberally patronized. 




SOUTHAMPTON. 



For antiquities and aboriginal relics the east end of the island 
offers a rich field, especially in the region of the Hamptons. The 

32 



year 1640 is far back in our history, but in that year Southampton 
was settled, and to-day there are three or four houses in the village 
which date back to 1680. Sign-boards have recently been placed 
giving the names of all the old streets and lanes, and on one we 
read that "Job's lane was opened in 1663." In the old village 
cemetery there is one stone, to the memory of the Rev. Joseph 
Taylor, erected in 1686. But it is the village of to-day with which 
we are particularly concerned. While other south side villages have 
residents from New York, Brooklyn, and cities about the metropolis, 
Southampton is composed almost exclusively of wealthy Gothamites. 
For the last ten years the place has been growing quietly, until now 
all the desirable land is occupied, and real estate, when sold, brings 
city prices. It is a fashionable and distinguished community, 
satisfied in the knowledge that it possesses superior natural 
attractions, and one of the prettiest lakes and finest ocean beaches 
on the island. The lake is over a mile long, and around it cluster 
most of the summer villas. The lake extends to within a few rods 
of the ocean, where there is a hard beach and superb surf bathing. 
Architects have competed with one another in the building of these 
costly houses, and nowhere else is there so fine a grouping of hand- 
some homes. In the vicinity of Southampton are the headquarters 
of the Hampton Club. Beyond the village to the east is Water 
Mills, with several handsome residences, and Bridgehampton, a 
village with a considerable permanent population and a good hotel. 
The drives in the vicinity are picturesque. One leads to Georgica 
Park, a settlement on a high plateau, with Georgica Lake at the east 
and the ocean at the south. The location, is magnificent. A dozen 
or more handsome cottages have been erected. Beyond Bridge- 
hampton is Sag Harbor, the terminus of the railroad. A curious 
old town it is. The inhabitants, until summer travel turned that 
way, said it was dead, and so it was, compared with its former 
glory when seventy whaling vessels sailed from its docks. Those 
were stirring times, and not very long ago either. When men 
began to dig in the ground for oil there was little inducement to 
hunt the seas for whales, and so the business died out. A large 
watch-case factory and other industrial establishments, giving 
employment to hundreds of people, have recently been started. 
Summer cottages have been built, tourist travel has turned in that 
direction, and the place has taken on something of the old-time 
activity. Julian Hawthorne, the novelist, spends his summers there. 

33 



Near by are Noyac, a charming rural retreat, and the Oak Grove 
trout-ponds, a famous resort for excursionists. 

EASTHAMPTON AND MONTAUK POINT. 

Eastward four miles from the railroad, reached b)^ stage from 
Bridgehampton or Sag Harbor, is quaint old Easthampton. The lover 
of beauty rejoices in the isolation of the town, for it preserves yet the 
delicious loveliness of the old times, and on Long Island at least it is 
peerless, while in the country, with few exceptions, it is unrivaled in 




NEAR SAG HARBOR. 



its unique beauty. It is not exactly on the sea, though the ocean 
must have more than its wonted calmness when the booming of the 
breakers is not heard in the quiet village. Less than two miles off 
are the great sand bluffs and the grandest beach between the Bay 
of Fundy and the Carolinas. The main street of the village is 
upward of seven rods in width, and for a good mile one can see to 
the upper end, where, at the branching of the roads, an old wind-mill 
stands. This street, with its great overhanging elms, makes the 
glory of Easthampton. Along its sides live the villagers, some in 
houses of modern make and Queen Anne affectation, but most in 



34 



the old homes of a century ago with the quaint old gables and 
shingled roofs, in one of which John Howard Payne lived in boyhood 
and in another Lyman Beecher. In the middle of the street, at the 
entrance of the village, is the cemetery, with many interesting 
inscriptions and monuments of historic interest. There are three 
genuine Holland wind-mills in the town, and because of these and 
the beautiful scenery, Easthampton has long been the Mecca of 
artists. Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage has his summer home here. Two 
miles to the east is Amagansett, and beyond is Montauk Point, the 
extreme end of the coast. It is a hilly peninsula, containing about 
nine thousand acres of land. It was originally owned by fifty share- 
holders, but in 1879 became the property of Mr. Arthur Benson, of 




Brooklyn, who gave $151,000 for the land. The usual way of 
reaching Montauk Point is by carriage from Easthampton, though 
not a few prefer to go by boat from Sag Harbor. In 1881 the 
Montauk Association was formed, and eighty acres within three 
miles of the Point were purchased. A summer colony has been 
started and nine houses erected, and they are all comfortable build- 
ings, and most of them expensively furnished. There is a club- 
house where the families congregate for meals and social enjoyment. 
For rugged scenery there is nothing to equal Montauk. The bluffs 
range from fifty to one hundred feet in height, and are bold and 
picturesque. In some places they present a front of stratified clay, 
at others they appear as masses of boulders and of wave-worn and 
ice-worn pebbles. As we near the Point the hills become bare of 
foliage, though covered with grass, forming a wild open moorland, 

35 



with something of that space and freedom that one sees in the 
EngHsh downs and Western plains. From the bluffs the expanse of 
sea is grand and inspiring. At Fort Pond Bay is a magnificent 
harbor, which is to be the terminus of the projected swift line of 
steamships to Milford Haven. At the extreme point is the white 
tower of the Montauk light, marking the end of Long Island and 




throwing the flash of its Fresnel light for twenty miles over the dark 
waters. The whole Atlantic coast offers no spot richer in historic 
and romantic interest than this famous point. It is weird in its 
solitary isolation, scarred with winds and waves, having grandeur of 
outline, and yet its summit is softened with greenest grass, and all 
the tender grace that Nature gives. It is a place of dreams, 
separated from the world's great life, with naught around it but the 
silent reaches of untenanted land and the great mystery of the 
illimitable sea. Not long will it preserve its unique and charming 
isolation. Enterprise will make its highways there, and the iron 
horse will ere long bring the pleasure-seekers to its solitudes. But, 
however populous may become this unrivaled cliff, nothing can 
destroy the splendor of its outlook or dim the glory of its azure sky, 
or the expanses of the great waste of waves that stretches beneath 
it. There are three life-saving stations on Montauk. 

36 




IIONTAUK POINT. 



SUBURBAN TOWNS. 



The recent development of towns and the creation of villages in 
the western part of Long Island results from the recognition of its 
advantages as a place of residence. Improvements in rapid transit, 
sanitary measures, restrictions against nuisances, and the erection of 
pleasant and tastefully designed houses and cottages only were 
needed to lure the people of moderate means and quiet tastes into 
this healthful region. It is now possible to do business in New 
York or Brooklyn through the daj', and in an hour or less from the 
time of leaving the shop or office to be swinging in the hammock 
under one's own elms or maples, inhaling a strong sea air, sweet- 
ened in its passage across miles of fields and woods, and enjoying 
the peaceful pleasures of rustic life. The towns near Brooklyn are 
not only agreeable and healthy, but they have stores, schools, and 
churches, and are in almost every way better places for a family 

37 



than the noisy, busthng, and immoral city. Land and houses can 
be bought at moderate and easy terms, and generous commutation 
is offered by the railroad. 

Richmond Hill, eight miles from Brooklyn, will recall to those 
who have made a transatlantic tour the delightful Richmond 
suburb of London, from whose famous Star and Garter Inn is re- 
vealed a lovely view of English meadows and groves, with the 
silvery Thames winding through them. From the gentle elevations 
of this Long Island Richmond one looks across miles of broad and 
fertile fields, studded with comfortable farm-houses and bits of 
forest, to the sea that lies sparkling in the south and that freshens 
every breeze with ozone. From the higher points the Sound is also 
visible on the north, and there is no end of delightful walks and 
rides in the neighborhood. The settlement here is new and archi- 
tecturally attractive. Fruit trees and gardens flourish ; every house 
has a strip of lawn ; the roads are shaded, and a good system of 
drainage and water- works is in operation. Another suburban town of 
merit is Woodhaven, distant but a few minutes' ride from Brooklyn. 
It is a place of growing consequence, where land may be had on 
reasonable terms, and it offers many inducements to the middle 
class. One or two large factories are the industrial centres of 
Woodhaven, and every passenger over this road will have admired 
the residence of Mr. Grosjean, one of the factory owners : a house 
set in a spacious park, with flower-beds, ponds, bridges, statuary, 
and ornamental shrubbery — one of the most ambitious specimens 
of gardening on Long Island. 

South of Richmond Hills, at the point where the divisions of 
the railroad from Long Island City and Atlantic Avenue come to- 
gether, is the new suburb of Morris Park, connected with Brooklyn 
by forty trains a day. This village is charmingly designed, with 
broad shaded avenues that run toward the cardinal points of the 
compass. Every house is neat and picturesque, the Queen Anne 
style being in present favor, and, as the lots are spacious, every 
dwelling stands back from the road in the retirement of its own 
lawn and garden. A straight boulevard runs to Jamaica Bay on 
the south, and there are hills close to the northward view. Morris 
Park is legally protected against nuisances of all kinds, and im- 
provements are rapidly effected. 

Jamaica is a conservative and orderly old town, with all the ap- 
purtenances of a city in its shops, schools, churches, lighting, water, 

38 



drainage, and transportation systems, and is the capital and ship- 
ping point for a large and rich farming region that spreads over the 
hills and plains for miles on every side. The main street is wide, 
well shaded, and partly lined with houses that date back to the 
colonial era — houses with timber in their walls that will hold to- 
gether for another century, and that are overhung by venerable 
elms, under whose branches, as children, sported the great-grand- 
fathers of the present generation. Pleasantly and healthfully sur- 
rounded, diversified in surface, readily accessible to the great cities, 
and offering land and homes for sale or to rent at prices alluring to 
the city man who despairs of owning a house in town, Jamaica is 
certain of a sure increase in population and popularity in the near 
future. It has three newspapers, and has grown to be of conse- 
quence as an educational centre, its five public schools being sup- 
plemented by Maple Hall Institute, Union Hall Seminary, and the 
Catholic School of St. Monica. Jamaica boasts — or has without 
boasting — a society of more than local distinction for wealth and 
cultivation, and its influence is felt for good on the community. 

Hollis is one of the places of the future, if present indications 
are not delusive. It has now the aspect of a spacious park, set 
with five hundred Norway maples, containing three miles of drives, 
furnished with a good water system, and communication with the 
cities by means of twenty-four daily trains. Already many very 
handsome residences have been erected, and the increase in houses 
is large each year. The ground here is slightly rolling, with a fall 
toward the south, and this, together with a sandy sub-soil that 
underlies the surface loam, secures good drainage and security 
against malarial influences. The landscape as seen from an eleva- 
tion is delightful ; the hill-range, known as " the backbone of Long 
Island," unfolding along the north, while the green plains, the 
marshy islands, the populous keys of Rockaway and Long Beach, 
and the distant Atlantic are in view at the south, and on clear days 
the crests of the Hudson palisades and Westchester hills are in 
sight. History also lends interest to this region, for troops have 
camped and battled hereabout, and it was here that Gen. Nathaniel 
P. Woodhull was killed while scouting, after the Revolutionary fight 
in Brooklyn. 

Queens is a pretty spot on the verge of the great Hempstead 
Plain, and near to many interesting points. It is occupied by 
a steady-going population of farmers and gardeners, some of 

39 



whom are employed in the superb nurseries of the neighbor- 
hood, where, during the warm weather, acres of ground are cov- 
ered with flowers that delight by their sweet odors and lively colors. 
North of Queens, though reached more readily from Hinsdale 
by branch railroad, is Creedmoor, a pleasant hamlet, near which is 
the most celebrated of American rifle-ranges, where the National 
Guard is frequently to be seen and heard at practice, and where the 
international matches took place some years ago. Creedmoor is 
an open and healthful country with serene old farm-houses near 
it that attract the summer boarder, and Little Neck Bay within 
walking distance on the north. 

Hinsdale and East Hinsdale, sixteen miles from Brooklyn, form 
a farming settlement that has not yet been struck by a "boom," but 
some people will like it the better for that, as it assures low prices 
and quiet living. The populace is composed of farmers, though 
people from the cities are beginning to build here. At Hyde Park 
we find a hotel and many pleasant dwellings. 

Garden City is well named, for it is an itrhs in rure^ with all the 
charm of rural belongings pervading its streets — a place of green 
shades and sweet odors, of tinkling fountains and balmy fields. It 
was laid out on a scale of generous proportion by the late A. T. 
Stewart, who bought for the purpose an immense reach of plain then 
called the Hempstead Barrens, and thought by farmers to be worth 
nothing except as pasture land. On this plain one of the most 
exquisite little towns in the country has developed, charming in 
appearance, with unusual advantages, and inhabited by people of 
refinement. Its thirty miles of streets and roads offer a delightful 
series of walks and drives, and in the surrounding "barrens," which 
are vocal through the summer with birds' songs, and which are freely 
swept by refreshing breezes, are wide and satisfying views of field, 
wood, and distant village. There is here a large and well-directed 
school, a casino, a park, and a cathedral ; for Garden City is the 
ecclesiastical centre of the Long Island diocese, and the bishop lives 
here in a house that is furnished with every luxury that taste and 
riches can suggest. The cathedral is a landmark that is visible for 
miles, and is a beautiful specimen of the Gothic, designed primarily 
as a mausoleum for the Stewart family. It is richly decorated 
within and without, contains fine organs, and its musical services 
draw visitors by the score from other places on every Sunday. 

Hempstead is a good old town, not unlike a New England 

40 



village, with its shaded trees, its big white houses and green blinds, 
its old churches, and its fat farms on the outlying plains. The 
people are well to do, and are noted for kindliness and sense. Gas 
has been brought into the houses, a fire-department has been organ- 
ized, there are large halls for meetings, fairs, and entertainments, 
good schools, fine churches, and three hotels, one of which sheltered 
Washington. The Episcopal Church owns a communion service 
presented in 1776 by Queen Anne. Near Hempstead are fresh and 
salt water rowing, fishing, and shooting, while the "barrens" are 
full of delightful walks and drives. 



THE CENTRAL SECTION. 

From Garden City the main line of the railroad continues 
through the central portion of Long Island, and then along the 
northern shore to Greenport. This region has not until recent 
years received that attention which it deserved, so little has it been 
known to Long Island tourists. From the car-windows a very poor 
idea of the country can be obtained, and even residents on the 
island have been accustomed to depreciate the value of the land. 
It has already been demonstrated by practical experiment, as in the 
case of Garden City, Central Islip, and other points, that the land 
is extremely fertile, and can with small labor be brought to the 
highest state of productiveness. The section throughout is rich in 
natural scenery, and because of its peculiar situation, with the soil 
perfect for drainage, the hills to the north offering shelter from 
harsh winds, and the pine trees giving forth health, it is a region 
unsurpassed for salubrity. To thoroughly appreciate this section, 
one must visit the towns, scramble over the hills and green fields 
and through the forest groves, and mingle with the unostentatious 
and hospitable inhabitants. Nearest to Garden City is Mineola, 
where the Queens County Fair grounds are located. It is the 
centre of a good farming country, and is a growing place. East 
Williston, Jericho, Westbury, Hicksville, are included in this section. 
At a short distance from Westbury is located the famous Meadow 
Brook Club, an organization of well-known New York gentlemen. 
Central Park and Farmingdale are thriving villages, where much 
of the produce is raised that finds its way to the city markets. A 
large portion of the farm products that are supplied to Brooklyn 

41 



come from Long Island, and a still larger quantity finds its way 
to New York. These villages all offer quiet retreats for the sum- 
mer vacationist. Passing through Wyandance and Deer Park, 
Brentwood is reached, where a new phase of Long Island is pre- 
sented. During the past year the attention of the public has been 
directed to a complete health resort on Long Island, distance only 
forty-one miles from New York. Brentwood has that health resort, 
and -is destined to become as popular as Lakewood, New Jersey. 
It has long been known that the atmosphere of pine forests is most 
favorable to invalids suffering from pulmonary affection, and phy- 
sicians, in recent years, have been sending patients to the pine 
groves with satisfactory results. At Brentwood there is such a forest, 
in the midst of which is an excellent hotel that meets all require- 
ments, keeping open summer and winter. The property was 
originally owned by a wealthy gentleman, Mr. R. W. Pearsall, who 
had twelve acres of the land made into a park, planting over twelve 
varieties of trees, the pines predominating, and the natural growth 
being entirely of pines. Some of these trees are nearly fifty feet 
in height, which speaks well for the fertility of the soil. The 
designer of Central Park, New York, and Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 
laid out the grounds. Mr. Pearsall erected a handsome house, 
modeled after a chateau in France, and richly furnished it through- 
out, the floors being inlaid with hardwood panels, and the decora- 
tions being artistic and costly. This house, now called "The 
Austral," was purchased by some wealthy New York gentlemen 
who had experienced beneficial results from the New Jersey pine 
groves. These parties have opened it to the public, and their 
venture has met with a large degree of success. There are pine 
trees on all sides, extending for twelve miles to the west, and on the 
east almost to Peconic Bay. The winds from the north are broken 
by the ridge of hills along the north shore of the island, and from 
the east are wafted over sixty miles of pine forests, while from the 
south they come in the summer, bringing cooling breezes from the 
ocean. The sanitary arrangements are pronounced by experts as 
perfect. A glass-inclosed solarium on the south permits invalids 
to get the full benefit of all sunshine. The hotel will accommodate 
about two hundred boarders, having been recently extensively 
enlarged. A competent physician lives in the hotel. An observ- 
ing physician of national repute once remarked that the two 
counties in the United States most remarkable for health were 

42 



Suffolk, Long Island, and Berkshire, Mass. As to Suffolk County, 
no one who has lived there will doubt the truth of this statement. 
The temperature of this portion of the island is several degrees 
warmer in winter and cooler in summer than that of the mainland. 
The reason for this is that the prevailing winds are from the south 
and southwest, blowing directly over the water from the Gulf 
Stream, which is only ninety miles' distant. Several very handsome 
houses have been built in Brentwood and are occupied by gentlemen 
of wealth and culture, and during the past year many eligible 
building sites have been sold. There is an Episcopal church in the 
village, and near the depot is a large nursery. Three miles to the 
east is Central Islip, a cheerful village with pleasant surroundings. 
New York city, in 1884, through its Commissioners of Charities and 
Corrections, purchased one thousand acres on the line of the 
railroad at Central Islip station, and extending for two miles and 
a half to Islip proper. The land cost $25,000, and at the present 
time $257,200 have been expended on buildings, water supply, etc. 
The farm is meant to accommodate quiet chronic male patients, 
and especially those who are able to perform outdoor work. There 
are already three hundred patients on the premises. 

Midway in the island, Ronkonkoma, the most charming of lakes, 
is set. The station nearest it bears the same name, and is less than 
a mile away. The road leading to this peerless lake approaches by 
gentle descent, with trees on either side, many of them of great size. 
The lake is about three miles in circumference. It is fed by 
springs, and is of remarkable clearness and purity. A white-sand 
beach borders it, and its shores are delightful in their varied con- 
tour. The banks rise in pleasant ascent, and are bordered with 
every variety of vegetation. Large trees hang their graceful 
branches downward, while vines and shrubbery grow with rich lux- 
uriance. The road follows the shore, and winds in and out, follow- 
ing every indentation, while beside it is the little footpath, in which 
lovers can walk and tell the pleasant tales that lovers have ever 
whispered. From whatever point one looks at this incomparable 
lake it is a thing of beauty, for its waters are of brightest color, 
easily susceptible to every breeze, while the shores are picturesque 
in their happy mingling of forest, farm, and homestead. There 
are many attractive houses about the lake, where summer boarders 
are accommodated. The drives in the vicinity are interesting, 
the walks are inviting, the air is tempered by the breezes of the 

43 




LAKE RONKONKOMA. 



lake ; and nowhere on the island is there a more attractive spot 
than this lake, with its pleasant name and its old traditions of 
Indian days. 

Beyond Ronkonkoma are Waverly, Medford, Yaphank, Manor, 
and Baiting Hollow, all healthy places, surrounded by a good 
farming section with fish and game in abundance. At Yaphank is a 
model farm connected with the county institution. The shire town 
of Suffolk County is Riverhead. It is centrally located, and an 
active village of two thousand inhabitants. It takes its name from 
the Peconic River, which empties into a bay of that name a short 
distance away. Riverhead has many advantages as a summer 
resort. A half-hour's drive will take one to Peconic Bay, and a 
ride of eight miles to the ocean, and it is less than that distance to 
the Sound. The village is handsomely laid out and has many fine 
residences. It is a bustling town, and during Fair week and Court 
time is crowded with strangers. It has one newspaper, a savings 
bank, one of the best in the State, six churches, and numerous local 
institutions. The court-house, jail, and county clerk's office are sub- 
stantial buildings, with well-kept lawns in front. The county fair 
grounds cover twenty acres of land upon which are well-appointed 
buildings. A mile from the village is a beautiful body of water, 
called Great Pond. The water is as clear as crystal, with a fine 
sand bottom, and on the south are high bluffs from which can be 
seen the ocean. Cauliflower and sweet potatoes are raised in large 
quantities, and in the spring carloads of strawberries are sent to 
market daily. Even peanuts have been successfully raised in this 
fertile soil, and several cranberry bogs are profitably cultivated. 
Two miles from Riverhead is Flanders, a modest resort, where 
sailing, fishing, and bathing are among the many attractions. 



PECONIC BAY RESORTS. 

At Jamesport is a resort, which has been so popular in recent 
years that the hotels and boarding-houses have been unable to 
accommodate the rush of summer guests. The popularity of the 
place is easily understood. It stands at the head of Peconic Bay, the 
yachtsman's favorite domain and the tourist's delight, while pleasant 
roads offer delightful drives through a charming rural region. The 
boating in Peconic Bay is regarded by some as even superior to that 



45 




PECONIC BAY. 



in the Great South Bay. There is direct communication with the 
Sound ; the fishing is excellent. The slope from the shores is so 
gradual that children can go in bathing and paddle about in boats 
with comparative safety. There is much life and gayety at James- 
port, and those who go there once are apt to become permanent 
visitors. Mattituck is a quiet country village, and never wants for 
boarders. The epicure can be especially favored by the number and 
quality of crabs that are caught in the lake-like inlet or creek which 

46 



forms so pleasant a feature of the view to the north of the village. 
The inhabitants are a thrifty class of people, judging by the com- 
modious and well-kept houses and by the harvests which the land 
annually gives forth. For those who are seeking rural homes near 
New York no more desirable locations can possibly be found than in 
this section of Long Island. Not only is the land excellent, but the 
scenery and climate are not surpassed in the State. Franklinville is 
near by. Cutchogue, another of these north side villages, is famous 
for its fine horses as well as its attractive homes. It is a place 
frequented by artists in the summer. A mile and a half toward the 
bay is New Suffolk, which has been an old and popular resort for 
forty years or more. Opposite this point, and distant a few minute's 
sail, is Robins Island, a famous hunting preserve, owned by the 
Robins Island Gun Club, an organization composed of prominent 
Brooklyn gentlemen. The island contains four hundred and sixty- 
nine acres of land. It is diversified with hills, cliffs, forests, fertile 
fields, and sand beaches. 

Continuing eastward by the railroad is Southold, a place which 
disputes the claim of Southampton as being the oldest settlement on 
the island. The purchase of Southold was made of the Indians as 
early as August 1640, by a colony of Englishmen from New Haven, 
led by Rev. John Youngs, who in October of that year organized a 
Church, which is still alive and prosperous. In a short time the 
settlement was well established. The Southold of to-day is an 
attractive village with clean streets, houses newly painted, and lawns 
well kept. A homelike atmosphere pervades the place. It is but a 
short walk to Peconic Bay and only a mile distant to the Sound. 
There are five churches, a newspaper, a hotel, and numerous board- 
ing-houses. There are several handsome residences in the place. 
On Horton's Point, north of the village, is an important light-house. 
The next station beyond is Greenport, the terminus of the railroad. 
It was formerly a famous port for whaling vessels, but now the 
inhabitants devote themselves principally to ship-building, railroad- 
ing, menhaden fishing, and caring for the wants of summer visitors. 
It has an excellent harbor, one of the finest on the Atlantic coast, 
which has recently been much improved by the building of a break- 
water. It has nearly three thousand inhabitants, with a bank, fire 
department, two newspapers, and seven churches. There is a 
steamboat running between Greenport and New London, and 
hourly communication with Shelter Island by a ferry. It has been a 

47 



popular summer resort for many years. It is a historic place — the 
house now standing where Washington put up for a night in 1757 ; 
another where Whitefield stopped and wrote with a diamond on a 
pane of glass "One thing is needful." 

The easternmost point of the northern arm of the island is 
Orient, an interesting place, where many wealthy gentlemen have 
built homes for themselves. There is a hotel and a few boarding- 
houses. The town is rich in attractions of land and water. Only a 
mile east of Orient is Plum Island, the paradise of sportsmen. 




ORIENT POINT, 



SHELTER ISLAND. 

An old writer once said that God might have made a better 
berry than the strawberry, but he doubted if he ever did. So a 
finer island than Shelter Island might have been dropped into the 
waters, but where it can be found, what traveler can tell ? The 
branching arms of Long Island hold it lovingly as a rare jewel, 
clasped by its golden settings, and no element of beauty seems lack- 
ing to make it incomparable among islands. It is irregular in out- 
line, with cliffs and promontories dropping into tiny coves and bays, 
with little beaches and shores rich with all the sweet deliciousness 
that shells and moss can give, while before it and around it are the 
blue waters of Peconic and Gardiner's bays and the distant Atlantic. 
Backward from the shore there are delightful pastoral scenes — hills 
and dales, dense woods, sunny fields with opening vistas of the 
encircling seas, while from its many summits, anchored not far away, 
may be seen a vision 

' ' Of islands that together lie 

As quietly as spots of sky 

Amongst the evening clouds." 

This island with its well-sheltered harbor has borne a promi- 
nent part in the annals of our country. When the Puritans of New 

48 




[age of the long island r. r. 

fONi! Island City to Grbknport 
I, (iloii Ciive . . . - 

CVntrnl Kx. 
Port .Ii-ia-rson 

Northport . - - - - 

lleinpstoail - . . . 

Manor to Enstport 
Creedmoor . . . - 

V. LoNO Island City to Sao Harbor 
l''ar Korkawav 
Lui'usl Avc'uuo . . - - 



llcach 
wick - 



. Brooklyn to Jamaica 
IV., l.on'i; Island City to Groat Neck 
WliiUstimo Branch 






OH 



MONTAUlC 
POINT 



DWELLS POINT ^> 

SMITHS POINT* 



^ 



30 



ENG'D BY AMERICkM BANK NOTt COIEWYOKK 






MILEAGE OF THE LONO ISLAND R. R. 







SCALE OF MILES 



112 3456 789 10 



f ,; 4AJ^I OM ' 



England, who fled from persecution, became themselves the per- 
secutors of the Quakers, this island of Manhassett became a shelter 
for George Fox and his followers. Nathaniel Sylvester, lord of the 
manor, though not a Quaker himself, greatly sympathized with the 
persecuted people and furnished them with a harbor of refuge, and 
the welcome thus accorded has been immortalized by the Quaker 
poet Whittier, in the verses : 

* * * * 

So from his last home to the darkening main, 
Bodeful of storm, strong Macy hied his way ; 
And when the green shore blended with the gray. 

His poor wife moaned: "Let us turn back again." 
" Nay^ woman weak of faith, kneel down," said he, 
' ' And say thy prayers ; the Lord himself will steer. 
And led by Him nor man nor devils fear." 

So the gray Southwicks, from the rainy sea 

Saw, far and faint, the loom of land, and gave. 
With feeble voices, thanks for friendly ground 
Whereon to rest their weary feet, and found 

A peaceful death-bed and a quiet grave. 

Where, ocean walled, and wiser than his age. 

The Lord of Shelter scorned the bigot's rage. 

* * * -:f 

A monument has recently been erected bearing inscriptions 
commemorating these early events. Professor Horsford, of Cam- 
bridge, occupies in the summer the Shelter Island Manor House, 
over one hundred years old. It is near the site of the original 
Sylvester mansion. 

The growth of Shelter Island as a place of resort has been quite 
remarkable. It contains every variety of natural scenery and the 
best of boating facilities. About sixteen years ago it came into 
public notice, when by an act of the Legislature "The Shelter 
Island Grove and Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church " was incorporated. About three hundred acres 
of land on the north side of the island were purchased. It is now 
known as Shelter Island Heights, and has its own post-office. The 
camp-me?ting feature of the place did not last long, and some eight 
years ago the property came into the control of several prominent 
and highly respectable gentlemen, who have since managed the 
affairs of the Association in a satisfactory manner. Sanitary 
arrangements are perfect, a large reservoir supplies all the houses 
with pure spring water, and the restrictions imposed are such as 

49 




keep out all nui- 
sances. The Associ- 
ation runs a large ho- 
tel, the Prospect House 
and Annex, superbly located, 
with a fine view of the har- 
bor, and supplied with every 
convenience of a thoroughly 
equipped hotel. It is under 
the management of Mr. D. 1 
hundred and fifty cottages ir 



SHELTER ISLAND. 



Hathaway. There are over one 
the Association, ranging in value 
from $3,000 upwards, and not a few of them occupied by gentle- 
men of national reputations. There are twenty miles of excellent 
roads, and the driving and horse-back riding can hardly be im- 
proved. There is no surf bathing, but good and safe still-water 
bathing. Athletic grounds have been laid out, and tennis courts, and 
there is a Shelter Island Yacht Club with large membership. About 
two miles from the heights is the territory of the Manhassett Asso- 
ciation, upon which has been erected a large hotel, the Manhassett 
House, and several handsome cottages. It is an attractive part of 
the island. 

Seaward from Shelter Island is Gardiner's Island, nine miles 
long and half a mile wide, owned by the Gardiners for two hundred 
and fifty years. It was purchased from the Indians, and occupied 
in 1639 by Lyon Gardiner, the first Englishman who settled in this 
State. It is a long, sun-lit island, and is abundantly supplied with 
game, fruits, and flowers, with excellent soil for cultivation. Leg- 
end has it that Captain Kidd buried some of his treasures on this 
island a year or two before his execution. A commission was sent 



50 



out and dug up a chest containing seven hundred and eighty-three 
ounces of gold, eight hundred and fifty ounces of silver, and a 
quantity of diamonds, rubies, pearls, silk and satin cloths. The 
Squire's Hall contains souvenirs of Captain Kidd, among other 
things a valuable silk shawl, which the pirate gave Mr. Gardiner. 
The present colony on the island consists of about one hundred 
men, women, and children, who are employed at farming, garden- 
ing, and stock-raising. 

THE NORTH SHORE. 

Long Island on its north shore is entirely different in physical 
aspect from the south side. The latter has plains and beaches, 
besides its remarkable outlying sand-spits, while the former is high 
ground, a pile of glacial drift, corrugated by hillocks and valleys, 
and cut into by a series of a dozen harbors, narrow, somewhat too 
shallow for vessels of deep draught, but safe anchorage for yachts, 
of which a fleet will generally be found off Flushing, Great Neck, 
Roslyn, Glen Cove, Oyster Bay, Huntington, Northport, and Port 
Jefferson. The southern face of the hills is a gradual slope, ad- 
vantageous for crops requiring quick drainage and sunny exposure, 
while the northern face has been eroded by the waves of the Sound 
until it falls away in steep and often precipitous bluffs of gravel that 
occasionally rise one hundred feet above the water. At the foot 
of these bluffs are beaches, dissimilar to the broad, hard sands 
of Fire Island and Rockaway, for they are narrow and strewn 
with boulders, though bathing is always feasible from them, 
and one may more readily wade into deeper water. There is but 
little surf, as breakers gain small sea-room in the Sound. The hills 
of the north side constitute " the backbone of the island," and while 
they are not bold, they are agreeable and sometimes picturesque, 
much of their surface being clothed with forest and dotted with 
new and substantial villas and summer homes. The highest point 
is Harbor Hill, near Roslyn, about three hundred and fifty feet in 
altitude. Like all the heights in this range, it commands a splendid 
view of the green fields and forests to east and south, the shining 
Sound below, and the cultivated shores of Westchester and Con- 
necticut to the northwest and north. The air is pure, the drainage 
is facilitated by light soil and by valleys with a seaward trend ; 
wild flowers and fruits flourish, vegetation is rich and beautiful •, 

51 



little brooks babble through the forest dells, and the forest aisles 
resound with songs of birds. In the pine and oak regions the 
hunter or the traveler might easily imagine himself in the fastnesses 
of an Adirondack wilderness, were it not for the lack of peaks in 
the field of vision. These hills will undoubtedly be taken up in 
time as homesteads by people of taste and means, since the attrac- 
tions, both of the country and seaside, are accessible from the cities, 
and are " handy " to safe harbors. The little towns that nestle be- 
tween the headlands have obvious comfort, and may be resorted to 
for their shops, factories, schools, and churches, while summer 
board is to be secured in all of them. 

A little chain of towns, extending from Brooklyn to Great Neck, 
is served by branches of the Long Island railroad, over which forty 
to fifty trains a day are dispatched. These towns may be regarded 
as centring about Flushing, and are cozy places that are furnished 
with numerous modern conveniences. Woodside and Winfield, re- 
spectively three and four miles from Long Island City, occupy ris- 
ing ground, and many pretty villas stand there. In Newtown there 
are not a few fine old places, though the township is occupied 
mainly by market-gardens, from which New York and Brooklyn are 
supplied with tons of vegetables during the season. Corona is a 
hopeful little suburb that is built on a good plan, and a couple of 
miles beyond it the passenger may alight at either of the two stations 
in Flushing. It would be difficult to say which town on Long Island 
is the more attractive, but if a decision of the public were taken 
on this subject it is certain that Flushing would not fare ill in gen- 
eral verdict, for it is a charming town, with an individuality of its 
own. Its long business street has the look of a city thoroughfare in 
spite of the trees that almost arch it, for there are stores, banks, 
hotels, restaurants, agencies, and newspaper offices, and on the 
clean and shaded side streets and avenues are churches and schools, 
and many homes that bespeak the possession of comfortable bank 
accounts, as well as of taste and moderate leisure. Some of the 
houses are sufficiently quaint and ancient to take on an old-world 
aspect. There is a park in the business centre, and famous nurs- 
eries on the skirts of the town. Flushing has a gas and water 
service, and is protected by firemen and police. Its schools, among 
them St. Joseph's Academy, Fairchild's Institute, St. Michael's, the 
Young Ladies' Seminary, and the High School, are attended by 
many pupils from other places, and are noted for efficiency. Col- 

52 



lege Point occupies the stubby cape between Hushing Bay and the 
Sound, and is devoted to manufactures. Its streets are well paved ; 
it has gas, water, sewerage, and fire-engines, and it is better cared 
for than most factory settlements, for it has a free technological in- 
stitute, library, kindergarten, reading-room, several good schools, a 
bank, a newspaper, shops, and churches. Whitestone, on a well- 
drained slope where the East River debouches into the Sound, is 
gathering a considerable population of city workers, and stands 
near the fort and Government reservation at Willett's Point, to 
which visitors are often attracted by engineer practice, drill, gun- 
nery experiments, and band concerts. 

Bay Side, Douglaston, and Little Neck are small and quiet places 
on Little Neck Bay, where the famous Little Neck clam is found on 
its "native heath." These are places of savory suggestion to many 
a New Yorker, and the seat of many fine residences and substantial 
farm-houses. The roads, hedged by noble old trees, wind along 
close to the bluff, disclosing rare views of land and water. Great 
Neck, fourteen miles from the western terminus of the road, is of 
limited importance as a village, but is the summer seat of many rich 
New Yorkers, and contains many elegant mansions and rich estates. 
This promontory, or great neck of land, juts out into the Sound for 
a distance of about two miles, and has a superb water front on two 
sides. The ground is high, the roads are sheltered by trees and 
edged with wild flowers and berry-bushes, and the salt breezes 
sweeping in from the Sound keep the thermometer several degrees 
lower than it is in New York during the August heats. The drives 
are enjoyable, the views superb, and the tables of the community are 
furnished from scores of well-managed gardens, farms, and dairies. 
Bathing and boating are common enjoyments through the summer. 
A little beyond Great Neck is the secluded village of Manhasset. 

Another promontory to the east of Great Neck juts out into the 
Sound a still greater distance, and has every vantage point that 
heart could desire. Here, too, have been erected costly residences, 
surrounded by foliage and evergreen hedges. Sands Point is where 
the steamers stop, and where the fleet of pleasure-boats are anchored, 

ROSLYN TO OYSTER BAY. 

The Glen Cove branch of the railroad diverges from the main 
line at Mineola, and passes through one of the most beautiful por- 

53 



tions of the island. The terminus is at Oyster Bay, the road having 
been extended the past year from Locust Valley. To fully appre- 
ciate the beauties of this region one must leave the railroad and 
travel along the woodland roads, and from the hills and high bluffs 
view the numerous bays, inlets, and delightful vistas of blue waters, 
with the sails of vessels going up and down the Sound. Wherever 
one wanders among these wooded hills, if he is a lover of beauty, 

" He cannot err in this delicious land," 

for there is forest and bay, with distant hills and valleys, while all 
around him are surprises of pleasant dells, 

" With spots of sunny openings, and with nooks 
To lie and nod in, sloping into brooks." 

Were these places unknown it would be fit to describe in detail 
their many advantages, but for years Roslyn, Glen Cove, Sea 
Cliff, and Oyster Bay have been written about in prose and verse, 
and their beauties delineated by the artist's pencil. Men of means 
have built palatial homes, and poets and authors have sought rest 
and quiet there. Who has not heard of Roslyn ? At the old toll- 
house at the summit of the hill, at the foot of which is Roslyn, one 
gets the first glimpse of the little town, which is memorable as con- 
taining the home where the poet Bryant lived and the grave where 
his ashes rest. The village is in the valley, divided by an inlet from 
Hempstead Harbor, which runs backward to the hills, and across 
which is a narrow causeway, over which the railroad winds. North- 
ward is a little stretch of marsh, which the tides keep sweet and 
clean, and beyond is the harbor, white with the sails of oystermen, 
and in the distance, across the Sound, are the hills of Connecticut, 
and bounding the harbor on either side are great hills, thick 
with foliage, in which great estates and castles rise among the 
branches, and look off upon the waters of the bay. Half a mile 
or more on the road which lies eastward of the harbor is Cedar- 
mere, the home of Bryant. Here he wrote some of his best songs, 
and here he came when in mood of inspiration. The house is 
large and rambling, the frame being at least a century old. There 
are broad piazzas, quiet nooks and coverts, extensions and sub- 
extensions, and the house is high enough above the waters to get 
the effect of intervening lawns, yet not too far to hear the music 
of the waves. There is a great variety of trees about the place, 

54 



l>i*^V)»>Jl.^T"» I • 




with ivy and clambering vines, truly a poet's home, where in spring 

it learns to 

" Wear the green coronal of leaves, 

And a thousand suns could not add aught 
Of splendor in the grass." 

The grave of Bryant is in the village cemetery, about a mile 
away. Mr. Parke Goodwin owns one of the many fine estates 
about Roslyn. The highest elevation on Long Island is the summit 
back of the village, and from the observatory which surmounts it 
can be seen the surrounding country for miles about. Roslyn has a 
paper-mill, the oldest in the State, a flouring-mill, a good hotel, 
and is a very popular place in summer. Beyond are Glen Head, a 
picturesque and growing resort, and Sea Cliff, possessing one of the 

55 



most superb locations on all Long Island. The ground rises 
abruptly from the shore for several hundred feet, and upon the 
bluff which skirts the village can be had views of the Sound that for 
beauty cannot be rivaled. Cottages stud the banks, which rise tier 
upon tier after the manner of seats in an amphitheatre. Shade 
trees abound and make pleasant music to the touch of the winds 
that play among their branches. Well-constructed roads in every 
direction, shaded by large trees, afford opportunities for driving and 
riding. Knolls and hills, studded with many varieties of wild 
flowers, invite ascent. Sea Cliff is a very lively place in the summer 
season, and several hotels and numerous boarding-houses are taxed 
to their utmost to accommodate all the guests who seek admission^ 
the largest hotel being the Sea Cliff House, first-class in appoint- 
ment, with accommodations for three hundred guests, while every 
year witnesses a large increase in the number of cottages owned by 
city people. The village was originally owned by the Sea Cliff 
Grove and Metropolitan Camp-Meeting Association, and after 
several years of vicissitudes the land passed out of the control of 
the Association, and the only camp-meetings now held are by the 
German Methodists. It is needless to add that the boating and 
bathing are excellent. To the east, by pleasant roads, is Glen 
Cove, where a different condition of aifairs is noted. The same 
beautiful scenery and bracing air is seen and felt, but the village 
presents the appearance of a busy and prosperous town, one that is 
not dependent in any way upon the influx of city folks in vacation 
time. The Duryea Starch Factory is located there, giving employ- 
ment to seven hundred people, and upon the business streets are 
other factories and many well-kept stores. The village is itself 
attractive, while the drives in every direction are surpassingly beau- 
tiful. Two miles away is the famous Island of Dosoris, where 
the Hon. Charles A. Dana has a park and a fine residence, which 
are constant sources of attraction to visitors. Boarding-houses 
and hotels are plentiful, but no more than sufficient to meet the 
demands of summer travel. At Glen Cove, as well as at all these 
north-side towns, there is always a cool breeze from the Sound at 
night, making a blanket an acceptable article. Excellent facilities 
are offered for boating and bathing. The fishing at all times is 
good, and from the middle of July to December many a pleasant 
day may be spent in hunting plover or bay snipe. At Locust 
Valley, a quiet village between the hills, and along the shores of the 

56 



Sound one may find a pleasant abiding-place. Among the curious 
old landmarks is the Friends' Academy, erected one hundred and 
twenty years ago, and endowed as a school for higher education by 
Gideon Frost. The main street is lined with wooden houses of old- 
time pattern, and big locust-trees which give abundant shade, while 
in every direction are pleasant walks and drives, and to those who 
seek a quiet retreat none more desirable can be found. 

Until this year Locust Valley has been the terminus of the Glen 
Cove branch, but now Oyster Bay has that distinction. Notwith- 
standing the fact that the permanent inhabitants of Oyster Bay 
desired and were entitled to this extension of the railroad, there 
were many among the summer visitors who opposed it, fearing that 
with the coming of the cars the quiet town would lose much of the 
exclusiveness for which it has been noted. Such fears will doubt- 
less prove to be groundless, for the class of people who bring dis- 
credit upon a place and make it common prefer to seek resorts 
nearer the cities. Oyster Bay will remain just as exclusive and just 
as charming as in years past, when it was reached by a long and 




NEAR SE.A. CLIFF. 

57 



wearisome stage-ride. It is indeed a pretty village, and it is not 
strange that property owners zealously guard its interests. Situ- 
ated directly on a beautiful bay, the boating facilities are unsur- 
passed, a fact easily seen on a summer's day by counting the yachts 
and pleasure-boats which harbor there. It is the headquarters for 
several prominent yacht-clubs, and regattas and rowing-races are 
frequently held during the season. The drives are numerous and 
delightful. The place is noted for its many fine residences. There 
are several old homesteads which played important parts in the 
early history of the country, and many relics of colonial times are to 
be found. At one time the Quakers had a footing there. 



COLD SPRING TO PORT JEFFERSON. 

Beyond Oyster Bay is Cold Spring, reached by the railroad of 
the Port Jefferson branch. No better evidence of the popularity of 
this place need be mentioned than the fact that the rush of summer 
travel is so great that many visitors are turned away because of lack 
of accommodation, nothwithstanding the large number of excellent 
hotels and boarding-houses. Every year an attempt is made to meet 
this demand, but it has never yet been fully accomplished. The 
ride from the depot to the village and to the harbor is picturesque 
at every point, and each turn of the road reveals some new surprise : 
it may be a trout-pond hidden in the woods, or a bit of pastoral 
scenery, or a glimpse of the bay through an opening in the trees, or 
perhaps a handsome residence. And then the harbor itself is more 
than a surprise, it is a revelation. Whether seen from the surround- 
ing hills or from the sandy beaches, it is an inspiring sight, more 
beautiful than words can describe. Crafts of every kind find safe 
harbor there. The fishing must be good, for ther^ is located a fish 
hatchery under the supervision of the New York Fish Commission, 
where each year are hatched thousands of brook trout, rainbow 
trout, land-locked salmon, lake trout, shad, whitefish, smelts, tom- 
cods, lobsters, and Penobscot salmon. Since 1883, 17,892,772 fish 
have been distributed on Long Island from this hatchery. On the 
terraced and wood-covered hills which bound the bay are large hotels 
which are provided with all modern conveniences. The Glenada, 
Laurelton Hall, and Forest Lawn are among the best known. In 
the past Cold Spring has been a manufacturing village of no small 

58 



importance, and ruins of once extensive factories are visible. Up the 
valley are a series of lakes, and near them are several mineral springs 
which have medicinal qualities of merit. The drives in every direc- 
tion are beautiful, but none more so than the one that winds around 
Lloyd's Neck, having the Bay and Sound always in view. The land 
must be fertile, for all the farmers appear to be prosperous, and live 
in fine residences not inferior to those occupied by gentlemen who 
reside for a portion of the year in New York. This neck, which 
geographically belongs to Suffolk, was recently cut off from Queens 




COLD SPRING HARBOR. 



County by an act of the Legislature and made a part of the town of 
Huntington. At the extreme end of the neck are the remains of 
an old fort, which in revolutionary times was occupied by the Brit- 
ish troops. 

Huntington deserves notice apart from any claim it may have as 
a desirable place for summer homes. It has an activity of its own 
which is not materially increased or diminished by the tide of sum- 
mer travel. Many local enterprises have contributed to its growth, 
and its prosperity to-day is greater than it has been at any time in 
the past. The academy of the village ranks high among the educa- 
tional institutions of the State, and a public library has been estab- 

59 




CENTREPORT HARBOR. 

lished. The location of Huntington has been Ukened to the Roman 
Cohsseum, and the comparison is proper. The surrounding hills 
recede with fine gradations, and from their summits are views of 
Huntington Ba)^, Eaton's Neck, Lloyd's Neck, and Long Island 
Sound, and from one or two points Babylon, Islip, and Fire Island. 
The harbor is about a mile from the village, beautifully situated 
amid encircling hills, its windings concealed from view, so that it 
resembles a mountain lake much more than an arm of the sea. It 
is usually dotted with yachts and boats that are kept in frequent use 
by the lovers of the waves. After the battle of Long Island, Hunt- 
ington was selected by the English as a place for a garrison and per- 
manent occupancy, and many relics in the place recall those memor- 
able times. In the burying-ground is a gravestone marked by a 
cannon ball, and on Gallows Hill are remains of a fort. Hunting- 
ton is growing rapidly as a resort. A large tract of land on the bay 
has been purchased by capitalists, who are making it a village of 
handsome residences clustered in a magnificent park. There are 
many large estates with fine houses and extensive gardens and 

60 



lawns. West Neck is one of the charming points along the shore, 
and is already occupied by many wealthy New Yorkers. Mr. J. R. 
Maxwell is the owner of one hundred acres, where he has erected an 
elegant house. The grounds are laid out with great taste, and the 
estate ranks among the most notable of its class. Near the village 
is the Suffolk Driving Park, one of the best on the island, and every 
year becoming more popular. 

The scenery about Greenlawn and Centreport is much the same. 
They nestle among the hills and have a long stretch of the Sound 
penetrating far inland, and offer as good a vantage ground for an 
economical vacation as can be desired. And then comes North- 
port, charmingly set around a harbor that makes in from Hunting- 
ton Bay, which has often been likened to the Bay of Naples. It is 
as beautiful as any harbor in the land. So completely is it land- 
locked, that from the village it seems more like a great lake. The 
long semicircle of Eaton's Neck, a spit of land shaped like a fish- 
hook, guards it from the Sound and makes it the safest of havens. 
Its entrance is narrow, but deep and easy of access. On either side 
of the harbor rise the hills, thickly crowned with forests, and at its 
head lies a green meadow. Northport once flourished with ship- 
building, and owned a fine fleet of vessels. Some part of the 
industry lingers, and until very recently vessels of eight hundred or 
one thousand tons have been launched from the stocks. The fleet 
now consists of a score or more of coasting schooners, and a swarm 
of oyster and fishing-smacks and pleasure-boats. Three ship-yards 
are kept busy repairing and building. There is a large printing 
establishment, enterprising stores, two hotels, and several boarding- 
houses. As a place of summer resort Northport is very popular 
among the north-side villages. Eaton's Neck, which scans both 
Sound and harbor, is a high peninsula and headland, where is 
located the famous Bacon farm and the palatial residence of the 
late Mr. C. H. Delamater. Duck Island is within easy distance, 
where extensive improvements are now in progress. 

St. Johnland, the next place to Northport, is destined to become 
celebrated for its eleemosynary institutions. The late Dr. Muhlen- 
berg several years ago started a benevolent enterprise which now 
embraces a variety of charitable objects, among which are the care 
and education of crippled and destitute children, the training of 
boys and girls, and a home for indigent, disabled, and friendless old 
men. Commodious buildings, superbly located, were erected, and 

6i 



the institution, under the supervision of the Episcopal Church, has 
been and is productive of a great amount of good. The proper 
care and treatment of insane patients is a problem that confronts 
every country. Like the poor, the demented are always with us, 
and humanity demands that they shall be properly cared for. To 
crowd thousands of insane people in our public asylums, as is too 
often done in many of the large cities, is not only a disgrace to our 
civilization, but a crime. Medical experts have shown that by the 
system of isolated cottages, with plenty of air and light about them, 
with a limited number of patients in each, reason is often restored 
to the unfortunates, a thing impossible in a crowded asylum. Other 
countries have made this experiment with large success, and in one 
or two instances it has been tried to advantage in this country. The 
Kings County authorities determined some three years ago to join 
in this movement of reform, and consequently purchased nine hun- 
dred and fifty acres of highly cultivated land at St. Johnland, where 
they propose ultimately to bring all their insane patients, and, pos- 
sibly, some of their poor-house inmates. The land borders on the 
water, is high, rolling, and well wooded, offering excellent facilities 
for drainage, and within easy distance of the railroad. The first 
cost of the property was about $100,000. The present estimated 
value of the whole establishment is $1,750,000, and a large amount 
of money is yet to be expended. Over seven hundred insane 
people are already on the grounds, and as soon as new cottages are 
erected they will be occupied. It is expected that many of the 
patients will be able to assist in the cultivation of the land and in 
other forms of beneficial out-of-door labor. The New York City 
authorities have started a similar enterprise at Central Islip. 

This whole region in the vicinity of St. Johnland, Smithtown, St. 
James, and Stony Brook is covered with excellent farms, and, while 
it is a quiet rural district with small and unpretentious villages, it 
offers great attraction to a large class of city people who are seeking 
just such retreats. The shores are fronted with precipitous cliffs, 
and the bays and inlets furnish superior boating, fishing, and bath- 
ing. The drives are among woods of tall and shapely trees and 
through green fields, while fresh-water lakes here and there make 
summer pilgrimage a thing of great delight. A few hotels and 
many hospitable farm-houses provide the visitors with pleasant tem- 
porary homes. At Comae is a farm famous for its fine horses. 
Stony Brook is an especially attractive village, stretching along the 

62 



sfa 







5i^^5^^fs 









%; 



■^tYnCi- 



sloping: Side of a c.;=ss^x^s^-»v55f^' .,- 

valley and near ^v^^H'^Ivtl^ 

a large pond emptying into ' N^^i.\^ " 
the Great Bay, A\ith stores "^ 
and churches and well-kept ;_ 
farms and many pleasant 
villas for summer use. 
There is a large hotel in the 
place. Beyond is Setauket, beau- 
tiful for situation, having a large fiesh- 
water lake on one side and Setauket 
Bay and the Sound on the other. The 
fishing and hunting are something to tempt the 
most exacting sportsman. A large rubber goods "* 

manufactory gives employment to many people. To those who de- 
light in ante-revolutionar}^ relics, two quaint old shingled churches 
with burying-grounds containing moss-covered gravestones, will 
prove of interest. It is said that when Washington visited this por- 
tion of Long Island he spent a night at Setauket, stopping at an inn 
kept by a zealous Tory. The General did not make himself known 
until he was taking his departure, when he kissed the landlord's 
little daughter, saying to her that after he had gone she might tell 
her parents that George Washington had kissed her. 

63 



-a. 



Two miles to the east is Port JeflFerson, the terminus of the rail- 
road. The main portion of the village is in a valley. The streets 
are irregular, and houses and stores have been built with slight 
regard to street lines and architectural grace. It is a curious and 
odd town, but strikingly interesting. The greatest charm is the har- 
bor, one of the finest on the north shore. It is well protected by 
natural and artificial breakwaters, and serves the purpose of pleasure- 
boats and large ships as well. Upon both sides are lofty hills cov- 
ered with trees with a commanding view of the Sound and the Con- 
necticut shore. It is as a ship-building port that Port Jefferson is 
especially noted. A few old hulls, the frame of a half-completed 
vessel, and numerous ship-yards give evidence of the activity that 
once existed and made Port Jefferson known the world over. The 
sailing ship has gradually given way to the steamer, and America 
has lost its hold on that once important industry of vessel-building. 
Port Jefferson has suffered with other places, but no town between 
New York and Boston, even now, both in building and repairing 
vessels, excels this quaint and enterprising village. Many associ- 
ated industries exist. A steamer ferry crosses the Sound to Bridge- 
port. There are fine views from its overlooking hills, while there 
are many quaint nooks and walks of great attractiveness to the vis- 
itor. The place has great charms for its residents, and a delightful 
social life exists. It has long been popular as a summer home, and 
its popularity has not been eclipsed by the attraction of newer resorts. 

Northwest of Port Jefferson Harbor is Oldfield Point, a quiet 
place, known to many pleasure seekers, and to the east, beyond the 
railroad, are Mount Sinai, Miller's Place, Rocky Point, and Middle 
Island, retired country settlements, where visitors can find many 
charming summer homes. The scenery is beautiful, and sport with 
rod and gun always at hand. 



We have taken our gentle readers with hasty flight through all 
the sections of the island that is dowered with so many charms. 
Only a touch of the foot here and there could be permitted by limi- 
tations of time and space. If the friends who have followed us in 
our hasty rambles will make their summer homes in some one of 
the many places of rest and beauty we have pictured, we are certain 
they will find that each day will reveal new graces ; for in this fair 
island 

" He who lingers longest is the happiest." 
64 



C O N T ]-: N T S 

I'AGE 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3-8 

NEAR-BY SEASIDE RESORTS 9-19 

SUBURBAN TOWNS 37-41 

THE SOUTH SHORE 20-36 

THE CENTRAL SECTION . 4,-51 

THE NORTH SHORE . 51-64 



Amagansett 


• 35 


Georgica Park 


• 33 


1 Ponquogue 






• .30 


Amityville 


. 21 


Glen Cove 


. 56 


Queens . 




■ 39 


Arverne-by-the-Sea 


■ 13 


Glen Head 


■ 55 


Quogue . 




. 29 


Atlanticville . 


• 30 


Good Ground . 


■ 30 


Ridgewood 




. 21 


Babylon . 


22 


Great Neck 


• 53 


Richmond Hill 




• 38 


Baiting Hollow- 


• 45 


Greenport 


■ 47 


Robins Island . 




■ 47 


Baldwins 


. 21 


Greenlawn 


. 61 


Rockaway 




II 


Bayport . 


■ 27 


Hempstead 


40 


Rockville Centre 




21 


Bay Side . 


• 53 


Hicksville 


41 


Riverhead 




• 45 


Bay Shore 


. 26 


Hinsdale 


40 


Ronkonkoma . 




• 43 


Bayswater 


. 16 


Hollis . 


39 


Roslyn . 




• 54 


Bellmore 


21 


Huntington 


59 


Sag PI arbor 




• 33 


BellDort . 


. 28 


Hyde Park 


40 


Sands Point . 




■ 53 


Brentwood 


42 


Islip 


26 


Sayville . 




■ 27 


Breslau . 


22 


Isle of Wight . 


17 


Sea Cliff . 




56 


Bridgehampton 


33 


Jamaica . 


38 


Setauket . 




63 


Brookhaven . 


28 


Jamesport 


45 


Shinnecock Hills 




30 


Cedarhurst 


17 


Lawrence 


17 


Sheepshead Bay 




11 


Central Park . 


41 


Little Neck 


53 


Shelter Island . 




48 


Central Islip . 


43 


Locust Valley . 


56 


Smithtown 






62 


Centreport 


61 


Long Beach 


18 


Southold . 






47 


College Point . 


53 


Manhasset 


53 


Southampton 






32 


Cold Spring 


58 


Manhattan Beach . 


9 


Speonk . 






29 


Comae 


62 


Massapequa . 


21 


St. James 






62 


Coney Island . 


9 


Manor 


45 


St. Johnland 






61 


Corona . 


52 


Mattituck 


46 


Stony Brook 






62 


Creednioor 


40 


Medford . 


45 


Syosset . 






58 


Cutchogue 


47 


Mineola . 


41 


Valley Stream 






20 


Deer Park 


42 


Merrick . 


21 


Water Mills 






33 


Douglaston 


53 


Montauk Point 


35 


Wave Crest 






14 


Easthampton . 


34 


Moriches . 


29 


Waverly . 






45 


Eastport . 


29 


Newtown 


52 


Westbury 






41 


Far Rockaway 


15 


Northport 


6i 


West Hamptoi 






29 


Farmingdale . 


41 


New Suffolk . 


47 


Whitestone 






53 


Fire Island 


24 


Oakdale . ' . 


26 


Williston 






41 


Flushing . 


52 


Ocean Park 


13 


Winfield . 






52 


Forge 


28 


Orient . . . . 


48 


Woodhaven 






38 


Fort Pond Bay 


36 


Oldfield Point 


64 


Woodsburgh 






17 


Freeport . . . . 


21 


Oyster Bay 


57 


Woodside 






52 


Franklinville . 


47 


Port Jefferson 


64 : 


Wyandance 






42 


Garden City . 


40 


Patchogue 


27 


Yaphank 






45 


Gardiner's Island 


50 


Pearsalls . . . ' . 


21 











65 



^'-^. 



16 0VS 




